Truth is a Person

When I was 20 years old, I made a new year’s resolution to quit smoking cigarettes. It was bothering me that I was allowing three inch tubes of tobacco control me and I was curious to know why. I also gave up other self-sabotaging lifestyles that were not leading anywhere healthy. I went on a determined search for truth behind these facets of my humanity. I knew there was a bigger picture than what my eyes could see.

It was about 4 months into that time and I found myself crying while listening to the song by Whitney Houston; “The Greatest Love of All.” I knew that “the greatest love of all was happening inside of me.” Something was changing inside, softening my heart, opening my eyes to things I’d never seen before. I felt drawn to know more about God, so I began to read scriptures which put words to what I was experiencing. I didn’t know that salvation through Jesus would allow me access the love of heaven on earth. Nobody ever told me.

I began to feel known and loved for who I really was. It was a high that no substance could offer. The presence of God’s love was not imagined. It was a truth that was tangible. Truth “happened” in my heart. It was not just a thought in my head or a fleeting emotion I felt. It was a transformation that began from the inside out.

This truth is a person we can encounter relationally. Jesus said; “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).

Truth-seekers tend to ask “why questions” because they believe there’s more than what their carnal minds see. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of what’s not seen." Hebrews 11:1.

If a person is on the ignorant side, less conscious of the faith factor, they don’t tend to search for meaning outside of their comfortable, predictable bubble of truth. It often takes an external crisis to engage their whole heart (in faith) to seek for answers beyond their subjective truth.

Jeremiah 29:13. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with "all" your heart.

Regardless, of which of these you may be, life has a way of boiling us down to reveal the essence of what we are made of. Tragedies, losses, betrayals and unresolved emotions need healing and inner peace. Many people wait until “the end of themselves” or they “hit bottom” to learn that what’s hidden inside is in need of a trustworthy relationship. That’s when God's perfect love can access our hearts and “heal the broken hearted and bind up their wounds.”

You can "know the truth and the truth can set you free." John 8:32 He gives us eyes to see. Don't let fear or doubt cause you to rely on counterfeit peace and identity. Instead of hiding behind earthly things, let yourself be known by God who wants to give new eyes and a new heart

 Seeing With Your Heart

The secret to greater perception is how we take care of our hearts. We see through the “eyes” of our hearts. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall ‘see’ God" (Matthew 5:8) (to see means to know God better) On the other hand, corrupt or impure hearts become blinded by impure motives. They become self-focused, progressing to deception, and mind control.

Our hearts were created for love, connection and empowering others, but we’ve all faced broken trust which isolates and disconnects. Fear, doubt, bitterness and other heart issues can result. Jesus knew how betrayal, abuse and rejection feels. Yet with a pure heart, He could see what God was doing with the darkness that surrounded Him. Jesus wants us to trust Him, so He can show us how He trusted the Father with the injustice He suffered.

There are many scriptures that refer to hearts, motives, and perceptions:

"As a man thinks in his heart so is he." Proverbs 23:7

"Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life." Proverbs 4:23:

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light." Matthew 6:21-22. (We embody God’s light, but our hearts can dim that light.)

Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Psalm 34:8 (Taste is an experience, not just an observation or judgement.)

Our fearful hearts need healing. We need a relational experience with a spiritual Father we can trust. True transformation comes through brokenness, not pride; vulnerability not disguise.

For many years I was spiritually blind because I avoided my heart issues. In hiding my pain from others, I also hid them from myself in ways I self sabotaged. My own denial caused “blind spots” in my thinking. Avoiding our heart issues affects our ability to see, to love and connect deeply.

Faith and trust may not have been a necessity until now. Many are coming to a crossroad and are about to see what they didn’t see before. It’s a time when lies meet truth, dark meets light and when human inability meets Gods ability.

Acts 26:17; “to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.”