The Truth That Sets Us Free
by Katie Harding on August 29, 2022
“What do I believe? How do I know this is truth?”
I remember those questions asked by another leader as I walked with her through her journey of recovery. So much pain from childhood wreaks havoc on women’s lives well into their adult years. And here she was again, standing at the crossroads of faith and belief.
That same night as I read Jesus’ words in John 8, I was struck by this phrase in verse 45, “But I speak the truth and therefore you do not believe me.” When we see the word “therefore,” we have to ask, “What is it there for?” Looking back a few verses, we see that Jesus had just told his followers, “If you dwell within my revelation I have brought, you indeed are my disciples; you shall know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.” He then goes on to tell the Pharisees in verse 44 that they practice the life characteristic of the devil and there is no truth in the devil. He is not only a liar, but he is the father of lies.
As I pondered all of this, I realized two things:
1. It’s often easier to believe a lie than the truth. We have a much easier time believing we are failures than believing we are God’s delight. Our minds often want to focus on our mistakes, gravitate towards assumptions, or compare how we don’t measure up to others. It’s easy to go there with our thoughts. It’s the enslavement of our human nature, and even though Christ has set us free, the enemy is still at war in the battle of our minds, So, we often accept the lie he whispers and live in the shame he offers.
2. It takes work to live out our belief. Belief doesn’t come naturally. It takes work, intentionality, and energy. In most passages in the New Testament, “believe” means “to cleave to, trust, rely on, and have faith in.” We often focus on the “have faith in” part of belief and neglect the others; however, the others are where we gain our endurance to persevere. When we cleave to, trust in, and rely on the actual indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we live by His strength. We live by His power. We don’t focus on the words of Christ, but on Christ himself, who dwells within. Yet, all this takes work, because believing lies has been such a natural reflex of the life we've lived for so long.
The good news is that the more we take our thoughts captive instead of allowing them to take us captive, the easier it gets. When we retrain our minds to live in the constant awareness of the One who is ever present, it changes everything. Because it changes us.
Jesus tells us that when we dwell within this revelation, we will know the Truth (Jesus) and the Truth will set us free. He will give us the Holy Spirit who will teach us all things and remind us of everything He, Christ, has told us: the Spirit will comfort, counsel, strengthen and intercede. He will also convict us of (not condemn us for) our sin and remind us of the righteousness we have received – the right-standing we now have with God because of Jesus.
And what will we experience? Freedom. Freedom to live in reflective thought, not reflexive action. It’s life-giving and life-changing. It confirms the Truth as we live it out through belief.