The Inside Truth

“Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me with wisdom in the inmost place.” (Psalms 51:6)

I have long been intrigued by the concept of “The Inside Truth,” from Psalm 51:6 above.  This Scripture reference speaks of something God desires for us to have, which motivates me to understand what He longs for.  First, it is important to understand what the words, “Inner parts” refer to.  In Strong’s Concordance, “Inner parts” references the inner regions and hidden recesses of our minds and thoughts.  As we have long been told, the battle of faith is fought in the mind.  Perhaps that is why God desires for truth to reign there, because a battle cannot be won without knowing the truth. “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Therefore, let’s look at what “untruths” may reign in our minds and thoughts, so that we can begin the process of enjoying more freedom.

At the core of the lies we believe, dwells our concept of who we really are.  For every battle that is fought in our minds, the hidden question lurking in our thoughts is,”Who am I in relationship to God?”  We know from Psalm 139:13,”For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”  If we believe that God put our very frames together ligament-by-ligament, and bone-by-bone, then this truth gives us a right perspective of who we are – children created by God.  In caring for someone else’s child, I feel a strong sense of responsibility to the parents to do well in my nurture of their child.  As humans, we tend to take better care of that which is not our own.  Well, guess what?  As Christians, we do not belong to ourselves, rather we belong fully to our Heavenly Father. Understanding that we are His workmanship and not our own, we then have a responsibility to Him in the way we care for our minds.

Through the storms of life, my tendency is to let go or to forget the truth of who I really am.  In tumultuous times, it is not my knee-jerk reaction to tell myself, “I know things are tough right now and I don’t understand why these things are happening; however, I do know that God has promised to be with me at all times.  He has promised to be an ever-present help in times of trouble.”  What about you?  On which side of the coin do you typically fall in the height of a crisis?  In John 16:33, Jesus said that we will have trouble in this world, it’s a promise, a guarantee, something we can surely count on.  Accordingly, what we choose to tell ourselves in difficulties, will greatly impact whether we fall victim to the battle or come through the battle thinking and behaving more like Jesus.  Trials are the soil in which God grows lasting fruit in our minds, in our wills, and in our emotions.  Growth, growth, and more growth – yippee!!  : )

While Jesus has not promised to take away our troubles, He has promised to go through them with us.  When we speak God’s truth to ourselves in the midst of difficulties, we are more aware of our closeness to Jesus; as well as, our total dependence upon Him.  It follows that, He will take us through life’s storms, rather than allow us to be consumed by the rising tides.  By cultivating truth in the soil of our minds, the Holy Spirit thereby plants wisdom in the inmost places. Then, He teaches us more of who He is and who we are in relationship to Him.  As a result of declaring His truth in light of our circumstances, we embark upon a wonderful freedom.  The giver of this freedom takes us by the hand and unties the lies that bind us one-by-one. Consequently, He frees us to be who He created us to be and to be about what we were created for.

My prayer for us is that we will seek Him today and ask Him what untruths we have allowed to set-up camp in our minds and thoughts.  Is it an attitude of giving up when things seem too challenging?  Do self-deprecating thoughts cloud your sight regarding who you really are in Him?  Has unforgiveness towards others or even yourself made it difficult to embrace His unchanging love for you?  As the Holy Spirit reveals these “Untruths” to us, may we, along with David in Psalm 51:10, ask the Lord to “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”  And, may we gain much wisdom from the process of choosing to have truth on the inside.

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  (Psalm 139:23-24)

Scripture references taken from the New International Version.