The Truth the Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth

For the past two years at our church we used Wednesdays in a unique way  It began with a series on “God Rewrites Your Story.”  These sessions did not disappoint as 3 described how God gave them the power to overcome addictions to gambling, pornography, alcohol, or drugs.  There were two themes consistent to their narratives.  First, in order to overcome such things it is essential to take personal responsibility.  Second, they all said that the beginning of healing was finding the courage to confess their struggles to someone else.

A common theme among recovered (recovering) addicts is the tendency to blame other things, life circumstances, bad breaks, or God for their difficulties and their dependencies.  One of the story tellers confessed to blaming God and asking, “Why did you make me this way?”  Coming face to face with personal weakness and taking personal responsibility for personal outcomes was the key to starting recovery for all of them.

The second component was the recruitment of a support group who gave encouragement, support, and much needed acceptance and forgiveness.  This community provided understanding and acceptance of the individual while they worked through the addiction, but did not excuse the behavior, but rather held them accountable for their actions.

After the initial summer series in 2018, there have been periodic sessions where brothers and sisters have shared their stories of pain, betrayal, failure, and tragedy.  Many of these had no ultimate sin to confess, but shared how God with the grace of his people helped them through unbelievable hardships and trials.  In all cases, the struggle to overcome would have been lost without the loving support of a grace-driven community of believers who passed on the grace they also have received in their lives.

These encouraging stories remind us of what God does for us when we go to him in the middle of our struggles with sin and the hard circumstances of life.  It is God who provides the human listening ears to do his bidding and to remind offenders that they are loved, accepted, and forgiven.  God goes before us and follows after (Psalms 139:5), preparing our way and cleaning up after us, picking up the pieces of our broken lives and putting us back forever.  This is “Telling the Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth!”

So, to fellow believers, I encourage you to tell your story, warts and all as a means of personal healing and a message of hope and redemption to those who hear it.  If you are not a believer, I ask you to consider the powerful changes made in the lives of those who have sincerely turned their lives over to God for healing, guidance, and direction.  Please look at our professions of faith, not at our failures and weaknesses which are plentiful and obvious.

We proclaim God and a righteous way of living, not because we are doing things perfectly.  That weakness is exactly why we believe, trust, and rely on God for our very existence.  The hypocrisy among us is the plight of all humanity because none of us live up to the standards we profess and we need God to deal with it all.

No matter where you are in your personal state, I beg you to simply do one thing.  Honestly consider Jesus, not his followers, not those who try to explain him away, but simply Jesus.