DAY 2 - God Can Handle the Truth
DAY 2 - God Can Handle the Truth
READ SLOWLY
Psalm 62:5 through 8 and Mark 9:21 through 24
Psalm 62 puts two sentences beside each other that we often separate. David tells God’s people to trust him at all times. Then he tells them to pour out their hearts to him. In the Bible, trust is not emotional silence. Trust tells God the truth.
To pour something out is to stop managing it and let the contents come. That is what God invites you to do with grief, anger, fear, disappointment, and doubt. He does not need the cleaned up version. He already knows what is in you. Prayer is where you stop carrying it alone.
In Mark 9, a father brings his suffering son to Jesus. He wants to believe Jesus can help, but disappointment has worn him down. His prayer is one of the most honest prayers in Scripture: I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief. Belief and doubt are in the same sentence, and Jesus does not turn him away.
Some longtime believers know how a faithful prayer is supposed to sound. We know the phrases. We know when to say God is good. But underneath the correct words, there may be anger we have never named or fear we are ashamed to admit. We can become more honest with people than we are with God.
If you are still unsure what you believe, you do not need to manufacture certainty before you approach Jesus. Bring him the faith you have and the doubt you have. Start with the truth. Jesus is not threatened by your questions.
Trust does not call the wound good. It does not pretend you are calm when you are not. It decides where to take what is not okay. David says God is our refuge. A refuge is where you run with the danger still behind you.
Faith is not the absence of questions. It is knowing where to take them.
ASK YOURSELF
• What emotion have I been hiding behind spiritual language?
• What would I say if I stopped trying to sound faithful?
• Where do belief and unbelief live beside each other in me?
• Do I treat God as a refuge or as someone I must impress?
YOUR NEXT STEP
Write an unedited prayer using four sentences. God, what I do not understand is. What I am afraid will happen is. What I want you to do is. What I need from you today is. Do not correct the prayer. Bring God what is actually in you.
PRAY
God, you already know the part of me that believes and the part that is afraid. I will not hide either one. Receive what I pour out today. Meet me in the confusion, and help my unbelief. Be my refuge while the situation is still unresolved. Amen.
READ SLOWLY
Psalm 62:5 through 8 and Mark 9:21 through 24
Psalm 62 puts two sentences beside each other that we often separate. David tells God’s people to trust him at all times. Then he tells them to pour out their hearts to him. In the Bible, trust is not emotional silence. Trust tells God the truth.
To pour something out is to stop managing it and let the contents come. That is what God invites you to do with grief, anger, fear, disappointment, and doubt. He does not need the cleaned up version. He already knows what is in you. Prayer is where you stop carrying it alone.
In Mark 9, a father brings his suffering son to Jesus. He wants to believe Jesus can help, but disappointment has worn him down. His prayer is one of the most honest prayers in Scripture: I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief. Belief and doubt are in the same sentence, and Jesus does not turn him away.
Some longtime believers know how a faithful prayer is supposed to sound. We know the phrases. We know when to say God is good. But underneath the correct words, there may be anger we have never named or fear we are ashamed to admit. We can become more honest with people than we are with God.
If you are still unsure what you believe, you do not need to manufacture certainty before you approach Jesus. Bring him the faith you have and the doubt you have. Start with the truth. Jesus is not threatened by your questions.
Trust does not call the wound good. It does not pretend you are calm when you are not. It decides where to take what is not okay. David says God is our refuge. A refuge is where you run with the danger still behind you.
Faith is not the absence of questions. It is knowing where to take them.
ASK YOURSELF
• What emotion have I been hiding behind spiritual language?
• What would I say if I stopped trying to sound faithful?
• Where do belief and unbelief live beside each other in me?
• Do I treat God as a refuge or as someone I must impress?
YOUR NEXT STEP
Write an unedited prayer using four sentences. God, what I do not understand is. What I am afraid will happen is. What I want you to do is. What I need from you today is. Do not correct the prayer. Bring God what is actually in you.
PRAY
God, you already know the part of me that believes and the part that is afraid. I will not hide either one. Receive what I pour out today. Meet me in the confusion, and help my unbelief. Be my refuge while the situation is still unresolved. Amen.
Posted in Daily Devotional