Living for Truth by Divine Revelation

The Lord, through Jeremiah, says,

“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”

~Jeremiah 33:2b (NRSV)

We are, by nature, deceivers of ourselves. Think of many things that we intentionally forget—like, for me, the time last year I chose to resent a tiny matter regarding someone’s rejection to promote a book I had just had published. Only recently did I consciously bear the truth of that resentment. Even though the resentment was small, it was no less real. I believe God only made this known to me because I invite the revelation of truth via prayer. I was then able forgive the person; they communicated clearly to me, which is all anyone can ask. The sin was mine. I owned it and I repented.

I say I live for truth; when we say these things we can expect God to test it. Do we really live for truth? Such a thing will inevitably be costly. At times we don’t bear the cost well.

There is no better resolution for life than living for truth, but we have to expect that God will test our tenacity and our forbearance. Do we really wish to live for truth?

Inviting God To Open the Floodgates of Heaven

I recall a song, Let It Rain, and I hear the words by the fear of the Lord. When we sing songs that invite God to open the floodgates of heaven we must understand the enormity of such a request. We must be ready to receive all sorts of things; lovely, humiliating, and even terrifying things; things of truth.

Many prayers are these sorts of prayers.

If we wish to know the truth, God will give us the truth. But we may not like it. Becoming more Christlike, however, is about praying prayers for revelation, more and more, in order that we may come to see our lives in true light. Praying such prayers will highlight our sin. We need to be ready to hear from God with humble hearts, receptive for bad, nonetheless truthful, news.

We are not there yet. Never will we be entirely there. But our role now is to honour our salvation by living for truth.

We should pray that God would open the floodgates of heaven in revealing truths. But we need to be ready; always ready. Otherwise we will push back and deny God, calling him a liar. Is there a worse profanity?

Our role in screening our thoughts is to sort out God’s revelation—where God speaks into our minds and through our hearts—from the lies of the devil. We sort truth from lies. Discernment has its place, but, also has courage a place, to receive the truth in humility.

***

God will not keep from us the truth. If we ask for revelation we will receive it. But we must be ready, always, to receive it well; so as to live for truth. Picking up our cross and carrying it is bearing the weight of truth in our lives. Can we bear it?

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.