Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Jesus gave an eternal principle to all people when He said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."¹

While Jesus was primarily sharing a theological principle, the same principle applies to every area of life—not only to propositional truth (factual truth) but also to personal truth.

Personal truth means that we are to be in touch with our inner truth; that is, being aware of and honest about our true feelings and motives. As God's Word says, "Behold, you [God] desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part you will make me know wisdom."²

In reality, the more dishonest we are (repressed and in denial) about our inner truth, the more we will distort all truth—including God's truth—to make it match our distorted perception of reality. The opposite is also true, the more honest we are with our inner truth the clearer we will see all truth.

In other words, we see things not the way they are but the way we are. For example, if I am a negative person, I will see things in a negative light—and be critical about them. If I am a supersensitive person, I will read into what others say or do and overreact—not so much on the basis of what they have said or done, but on the basis of who and what I am. On the other hand, as Thomas Dreier put it, "The world is a great mirror. It reflects back to you what you are. If you are loving, if you are friendly, if you are helpful, the world will prove loving and friendly and helpful to you. The world is what you are."

It is not without good reason that God's Word teaches: "Don't just pretend to be good! Be done with dishonesty and jealousy ... put away all evil, deception, envy, and fraud. Long to grow up into the fullness of your salvation."³

If we want to discover truth it starts with our being truthful and honest with ourselves. As long as there is any area in our life where we haven't found freedom, we can be sure that there is some truth we are not seeing or are in denial about. As Jesus said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."¹

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to see and get reconnected to any and every area in my life where I might be in denial, so I can bring these issues into the light so they can be dealt with and resolved. Help me always to be truthful with myself, others and with You so that I will find true freedom and not distort the truth in any way. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name, amen."


1. John 8:31-32 (NIV).
2. Psalm 51:6 (NASB).
3. See 1 Peter 2:1-3 (TLB).

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