"The Truth Hurts..."

The past few months, God and I have been having some very deep conversation, which He is ultimately using to bring healing. But, let me just say, before I realized the purpose in all of this, I spent some days and some nights whining and complaining to Him about some experiences I've encountered that left me....rather wounded. Have you ever prayed and asked God to do something, but His method didn't exactly equate to your method of choice? I'm sure I can't possibly be the only person this has ever happened to. I had been praying and asking God for clarity and for Him to reveal His will concerning some specific areas in my life. And although He didn't reveal things right away, what He did eventually reveal...well let's just say, I wasn't ready. I'm sure you've heard, or maybe even used the phrase before: "The truth hurts". I've made this statement a time or two myself. But after allowing the Holy Spirit to minister to me concerning what was happening in my own life, I was able to realize the error in this idea of the truth being hurtful.


First, let me just start with some very basic foundational beliefs to make sure we are on the same page.

• I believe that God is the source and author of all truth and He reveals His truth to us through the Bible, also known as, the Word of God. 
• I believe that the Holy Spirit, which dwells on the inside of every believer, reminds us of God's word, which is truth, in all situations. 
• I also believe that the word of God is ABSOLUTE truth, meaning that there is no need to add to or take away from it and it does not change, lie nor fail. 

So, having concluded that (1) we know the source of all truth and we can reference and identify it at any given time in the Word of God, (2) we have the spirit of God on the inside of us to remind us of the truth in any given situation, and (3) the truth is perfect, full and complete, never able to change, fail or lie, then why do we still fall for deception or end up being "hurt by the truth?" I believe that we as humans identify the truth, just like deception, relative to our own perspectives, which ultimately shape our beliefs on down to our actions. So, if our perspective is distorted from the start concerning something, then that distortion is going to trickle down to distorted beliefs and ultimately produce distorted actions/behaviors. Just like on the flip side, if our perspective is properly aligned with truth, which is indication of a godly perspective, then it will trickle down to godly beliefs and ultimately produce godly actions/behaviors. You follow me so far?


So then think about it, why do we find ourselves being "hurt by the truth" or making statements like "the truth hurts"???.... I believe the reason why is because we are viewing things from a carnal perspective or lens and our beliefs and actions produce carnal results. First of all, I don't believe that our Heavenly Father allows us to enter into situations blindly. He's always speaking, He's always nudging us and He's always pointing us in the direction of the truth. However, we sometimes ignore Him and we come up with our own "carnal calculations" to justify our carnal actions and decisions. Then and only then do we end up hurt. But consider this...It is not the truth that hurts us. What's really hurtful is when we recognize and acknowledge our own responsibility or the part that we played in being hurt. We end up hurt because we recognize that we ignored the leading of the Holy Spirit, we ignored His warning signs and the truth that He tried to lead us to. The fact of the matter is, the truth was never meant to hurt us. The purpose of truth is to bring us to a place of confident freedom; freedom to choose life and make decisions that produce good fruit. But when we don't do our part and become familiar with truth by studying and reading and meditating on the Word of God, or we ignore the unctions of the Holy Spirit, our decisions typically bear bad fruit and we end up hurt in the end.


The Bible says in John 8:31-32 (AMP)


31: So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in My word (hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them), you are truly My disciples.
32: And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.


The Bible tells us that the way we discover the truth is by abiding in the Word of God and living in accordance with it. It also says that when we discover the truth, the truth sets us free. It doesn't say anything about us being hurt by the truth.


The Bible also says in John 14:15-17 (AMP)


15: If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands.
16: And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever,
17: The Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart), because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you.


The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is also known as the Spirit of Truth, the Comforter, the Counselor, the Helper, the Intercessor, the Advocate, the Strengthener and the Standby... So, one of the benefits of being in the family of Christ is that we have all of these roles of the Holy Spirit, alive and active on the inside of us. And when He reveals the truth to us, which will always bear witness with our spirit (I John 5:6b), it is never intended to hurt us or bring us harm. It is always meant to direct us to freedom-bearing decisions/choices. Do you see that? Now on the flip side, this passage of scripture tells us that the world cannot receive the Spirit of Truth (the Holy Spirit) into their hearts because they cannot see or recognize Him. Isn't that a dangerous way to live? Walking around blind to the truth? Liable of falling prey to any and all types of deception? Thank God that He sent His Holy Spirit to live inside of us as believers and that we don't have to be deceived or uninformed or reckless in our decision-making. We have THE Counselor, living on the inside of us, who leads us and guides us into all truth.


John 16:13 (AMP) reads:


13: But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future].


I am so grateful to God for blessing us with His Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. And that even when we miss it or we make mistakes due to our own carnal thinking and decision-making, His spirit intercedes for us and corrects us so that we can repent and allow Him to lead us back to the truth! Not to hurt us, but to bring us to a place of confident freedom to choose life and bear good fruit!...Not just any freedom, but confident freedom. Just think about it, if you know the absolute truth about something, you can make decisions and move forward concerning it with confidence. Aren't you glad to know that you can have that confidence and freedom when your decisions are led by the Spirit of Truth?! We can rejoice and be glad about the truth! So instead of saying "the truth hurts", let's rejoice in the freedom the truth brings!


Prayer: Heavenly Father, I just thank you for your Holy Spirit, who dwells on the inside of me and leads me  and guides me into all truth. I thank you that I can trust confidently in Your spirit to always reveal the truth in any and every situation and that you give me the wisdom to recognize it. I thank you that you are faithful to me and even when I make mistakes, your spirit intercedes on my behalf and draws me to repentance so that I can turn away from deception and carnality and run towards the path of truth! Now Father I pray that you would continue to give me wisdom and insight through your Word and continue to reveal the truth to me so that my life and my decisions are pleasing unto you. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.


God Bless,
-Queen