This week’s devotions are based on Week 1 of Rooted – Grounded in Grace (CLICK HERE)
Our hearts yearn for truth.
When we watch the news, we want to know what is truth.
When we have a conversation with someone we trust, we want to know the truth.
When an illness occurs, we want a doctor that will tell us the truth.
There is something about the truth that settles the soul. To be sure, we may not always want to hear the truth if it is bad news or a reality we don’t want to face. But when pressed with the options of being lied to or telling the truth, I would guess that a strong majority if not all respondents would say, “Tell me the truth.”
In the search for truth, it is not always easy to discern what is true or what is not. Sometimes in our quest for truth we give up or take a fatalistic attitude that “No one can know the truth.”
Perhaps that is true (or is it?) in the human world. But have you ever asked yourself, “Why do I yearn for truth?” “Why do I not long for lies?” Could it be that God instilled in the hearts of mankind a desire to know the truth? Could it be that there is something freeing about knowing the truth? Could it be that there is something settling about knowing the truth?
Yes. Yes there is.
God put this desire in mankind to know the truth. The challenge is, mankind searches for truth without going to the source of all truth. Truth is sought for in the majority opinion. Truth is sought in the presuppositions of science. Truth is sought in the inner self exploration. The problem? I still will question whether what I discovered is 100% truth.
So where do we look to settle the soul and root it deeply in truth? From God himself which he recorded and preserved in the pages of Holy Scripture. Well, how do we know it’s true? Fair question, but for the sake of the brevity of this devotional thought, let me simply say the Bible is consistent in its prophecy and fulfillment and its alignment to history and historical figures (More could be said here…). But perhaps we can look at the effect on our hearts when we take in the Word of God and ask, “Does it settle my soul? Does it bring clarity amidst confusion? Or does it give me a confidence that no other quest for truth has given.”
It does. Jesus said it would. Consider these three Scriptures this morning:
- John 8:31-32 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The Word of God frees our soul to end the search for truth…because we found the source of truth.
- John 17:16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. The Word of God sets us apart from the world and guides us in a worldview that makes sense and able to answer life’s big questions better than any other perceived source of truth.
- Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” The Word of God is constant and consistent. It doesn’t change with culture, popular opinion, or the latest philosophical ideas. It endures forever…always has always will.
With this gentle nudge, the Lord this morning is encouraging you to spend time in his Word. Let his Word ground your heart in truth.
Apply: How has God’s Word brough truth into your life?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your Word for it settles my heart in truth. AMEN.