You cannot know the truth of your circumstance until you have heard from God
p.121
Share to the group a statement or scripture that resonates with you from today’s reading and a responding prayer…
You cannot know the truth of your circumstance until you have heard from God
p.121
Share to the group a statement or scripture that resonates with you from today’s reading and a responding prayer…
From don
“Truth is a Person who is always present in your life. You cannot know the truth of your circumstance until you have heard from God. He is Truth! Truth is present and active in your life!”
Such an awesome and refreshing reminder! Our perspective is limited- God’s is eternal and limitless! Therefore, what we are able to perceive with our limited (and often times unreliable) senses cannot be a reliable source of real truth about any circumstance. Only God can know the truth about it, and therefore we cannot know the truth until we have heard from Him. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” He is the truth as He has been revealed to us through God’s Word. This is how we are able to discern the truth about even our most dire circumstances.
I remember when my brother passed away about 28 years ago. My dad had just passed away the year before. For many years following, I was angry at God, and began spiraling down a path of self-destruction. My perception of the truth of this circumstance was that life was pointlessly painful and without purpose. However, when I came to know the Lord, I was led through His Word to the realization that this was not the real truth. I found that God is always working His purposes in our lives. What’s more, I can actually look back over the years since this event, and trace how God worked through that circumstance to eventually lead me to Him! Had my brother not passed away, I would not have come to know the Lord the way I did 16 years later!
Father, thank You for Your steadfast love and amazing grace! Help us to wait upon You, and to know that You are “working all things together for the good of those that love You.” You have called us “according to Your purpose.” I pray that we would yield our wills to Yours, and trust in You, despite how things may seem, that we would be used by You to further Your kingdom here on earth until You come again!
“When you face confusing circumstances, don’t blame God. Don’t give up following Him. Go to God. Ask him to reveal the truth of your circumstances. Ask Him to show you His perspective. Then wait on the Lord.” Instead of turning to God in trying circumstances, I tend to go to my community or even isolate myself to try to process what’s going on when it gets overwhelming. Isolation can often lead me to lose sight of context and perspective, getting lost in my own thoughts. I know community isn’t a bad option, but I should go to Truth first because only God knows the full extent of my circumstances. God, I recognize your sovereignty in all things and I’m thankful that You’re patient with me in my struggles. May I look to You in times of need as my one true hope and Deliverer for You are powerful, loving, and in control
Knowing the truth of every situation comes through Jesus. As humans I think we tend to focus on all the bad aroused in a certain situation or even the difficulty of the situation itself because we find comfort in wanting to prepare for the worst. We also like to gauge situations so we have some sort of idea of what’s ahead of us. Evaluating our situations purely based on our circumstances can cause us to question God’s actions and thwart our opinions of God. Hearing from Jesus is where we will find the undeniable truth for he is the truth.
The quote that stood out most to me today was “Don’t evaluate your situation until you have heard from Jesus. He is Truth.” This reminded me that just evaluating situations at face value can be harmful since it’s a way of not coming to God first. Now I’m reminded to watch for God’s word and watch for the reveal of his perspective on my circumstances.
I pray today that I begin looking to God’s word more often, and to continue with prayer more often and for the strength to put more time aside for God.
It’s actually pretty reassuring to know that even the greats in the Bible had a hard time fully trusting God. It’s just difficult. Given hard circumstances, the natural tendency is to blame something or complain or even just admit defeat. If we’re going to try to turn to God for guidance through hard times, it will be a struggle to remember to do so. And honestly, if I’m in a tough situation, I tend to try to find a solution, and if not, give up. The response is rarely to come to God, whether for guidance, comfort, or to seek his perspective. Obviously that has to change. And it’s easy to say “go to God with everything” but it’s so so difficult to actually remember that when the world is crashing down on you. God I pray that you help us remember You when things get hard.