Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
JOHN 8:32
It was a shocking moment when I found out that I was not who I thought I was. In an instant, most of the facts that I thought to be true about my life changed. My parents were not actually my biological parents; my birth certificate was not my real birth certificate; and, most shockingly, all my neighbors and relatives knew the truth about my life but never let me in on the secret.
In that moment I began to wonder what else in my life was not real. What other facts had I believed that were not true? Could I trust anyone or anything else? If I kept on that train of thought, no doubt I would have ended up derailing, but I am ever so grateful that I had spent many years hiding God’s Word in my heart. God’s Word is living and active and is supposed to interact with us in these critical moments of life. The Word was immediately a comfort, a lamp, a light, and an instructor for me. Because I knew the Word, I could fall back on God’s truth, his promises, and what I knew about his character.
There were so many facts screaming for my attention in that surreal moment when I discovered that I was not my parents’ biological child, but I had to make the big God that I served bigger than my emotions, questions, pain, and shock. After a few seconds to collect my thoughts, I almost surprised myself with what came out of my mouth: “Oh well, before I was formed in my mother’s womb, whoever’s womb that was, he knew me and knitted together my innermost parts. I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” It was the Word of God and not the word of hurt or shock that spoke.
By making the truth of God’s Word bigger than the facts that had been revealed, I could readily ground myself in the great overriding truth that God is who he says he is and could be trusted even when everything else had just shifted in my life. Newly disclosed facts were bombarding me, but the truth never changed.
MOMENT OF REFLECTION
Has the Bible ever provided you with truths about God that helped you to trust him even in challenging circumstances?