Aspen excitedly climbed into her car seat to go to her best friends birthday party.  The drive was about 30 minutes from our house.  About half way to the party we saw frozen water falling from the sky.  Snow!   Brett disagreed however, according to him it was not snow.  No, it was confetti or manna, but certainly not snow, because if it was snow then it’s cold enough to snow and Brett is not ready to face the truth; winter is raging upon us.

I wonder how often I treat sin like Brett treated the snow.  Borrowing sounds so much better than stealing and being good friends with your best friends husband or wife sounds so much better than having an affair.  Telling a white lie so you don’t hurt someones feelings is acceptable right?  How about the times we put sleep, shopping, or a good novel and a TV show ahead of time we should have spent with God?  We just needed a little bit of me time, never mind that God says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

When Brett said the snow was not snow, he didn’t believe it and neither did I.  Aspen especially didn’t believe it because she loves snow and thought daddy had really lost it not being able to recognize snow when he saw it.  Generally, when we try to convince ourselves of something that isn’t true, we don’t really believe it, we just turn our eyes and thoughts from the truth so we don’t have to deal with it.  For instance, the classic, “I don’t have a problem and I can stop (fill in the blank) whenever I want”,  The prevalent, “Everything is alright in my marriage/relationship”, or as already mentioned, “It’s just a little white lie it won’t hurt anyone.”  All lies are an attempt to avoid one thing: the truth.

Jesus had something very simple but profound to say about the truth:“Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32.

I know I’ve said this before in a previous blog but it’s worth saying again.  The “truth” here isn’t just the truth that Jesus is God’s Son or the truth of the gospel, it’s ALL truth.  Yes, ALL truth sets you free just as ALL lies lock you up in an emotional/spiritual prison.

You see, lies come to us and offer what seems to be an easy way out or around having to deal with the truth about ourselves, our lives or even God. It can be very hard to confront and walk through the truth about things.  Usually truth requires some kind of change or surrender on our part.  The longer we fight it or hide from it, the longer we keep ourselves locked up.  The only key to opening that prison door is the truth about whatever it is we are trying to avoid.

So here is our challenge, you and me; what are the lies we have told ourselves or let slip into our lives.  Lets look at our relationships, our connections with other people and our connection (or disconnection) with God.  And don’t forget the hardest one; our connection (or disconnection) to our own heart.  What lies are we believing about ourselves?  Jesus stands on the other side of those bars with the key of truth.  Take it, and whatever it is you have to walk through, remember something else Jesus said;

“I will never leave you or forsake you.”  The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deut. 31:8

So there you have it, you never have to face anything alone.  God will always give you just the right amount of strength to face your giants.  So take that key, unlock that door, arise, go forth and conquer.