Truth
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
John 16:13
I have a daily routine-- now that I’ve been working from home lo these almost eight months! – in which I walk to the neighborhood mailbox after I log off my work laptop. It’s not a far jaunt by any means, but it gets me out of the house and my blood flowing a bit, after a long day of sitting at the computer. I’ll rifle through the mail, setting aside the few bills we get along with the various charity requests we receive, and after tucking away my beloved Readers’ Digest when it arrives, I’ll recycle the extraneous ads and offers from credit companies and the like.
The makeup of my mail has changed over the past couple of months, as I’m sure yours has, matching the pace by which television commercials and radio ads have been airing for the upcoming local, state, and federal election. For every Wendy Davis flyer I and each of my family members have received (we once received four of the same flyer—two addressed to me, one to Troy, and one to my husband), we get the same tit-for-tat flyer from Chip Roy. On the television, it’s John Cornyn and MJ Hegar, and of course, Trump and Biden. Each candidate touts that their opponent’s leadership will lead to ruin, and that theirs is the correct and genuine key to success, health, and personal satisfaction for everyone. ‘Murica!
Whatever is one to believe? Is the truth truly something that can be defined and represented by one candidate or another? I’m afraid not, as everyone’s truth seems to be relative these days, as it best aligns to one’s views. The uninformed voter is likely to fall victim to following the one with the loudest voice, or the one who slings the most amount of mud, and will be lucky if there is a modicum of truth in the message. The informed voter does all that he or she can to understand each candidate’s positions, cutting through the political maneuvering and sleight of hand to find the truth.
As believers, we face the same challenges as we navigate the world on our journey through life. We are accosted by a barrage of opinions presented as truth and volleys of politically appealing promises meant to affirm who the world says that we are or should be. The enemy has a fine array of weaponry with which to distract and confuse, to disarm and deter us from understanding truth. But fret not, my dear friends, for we have the actual Spirit of Truth living with us at all times. He directs our focus onto Lord Jesus, conforming us more into the image of Christ through our study of scripture, through prayer and communion with our heavenly Father, and through fellowship with like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ. It is through the work of the Holy Spirit in us that we are able to grow in spiritual maturity and seek more of His truth in our lives. With more of His truth in us, the less affected we are by the chaos and confusion of this world.
Dear ones, it would be an understatement to say that these are challenging times of late. Add to that mix a contentious and volatile presidential election and, regardless of who wins that election, angst, anger, and less-than-ideal behavior and action on both sides of the political spectrum. Once all of the ballots are counted and a winner declared, there will be a cacophony of accusations, political posturing, and division. However, as believers, we will know what truth truly is. I pray that we all find comfort in the fact God is going to allow the person who is best suited to fulfill His purpose and plan to be elected, regardless of whether we voted for that person or not. I pray that the Spirit of Truth leads us to ask for God’s will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. I pray that we can still understand our bond to each other and our unity within the family of Christ.
Prayer Requests
· For the passing of Dora Santillano’s sister—may Dora and the Santillano family be comforted by the Lord’s peace and encouragement during this time
· For those burdened with addictions
· For those sharing their faith and being persecuted for it
· For us to be of one accord in seeking His will for His church
To those still worried about the election, I invite you to read the devotion I shared in George’s Sunday School class yesterday: https://www.1517.org/articles/gods-not-worried-about-the-election
Quotes
“Throw yourself upon God’s faithfulness as you do upon your bed, bringing all your weariness to His dear rest.” -- Charles Spurgeon
“Before you ever had this problem, God already had the solution.”