What to Do When Truth and Facts Collide by:Paul Graden
Living the spiritual life presents many exciting moments
. It also provides us with faith challenges, as the facts we see don't always line up with the truth we know. To successfully maneuver through these difficult challenges, we must understand the difference between truth and facts, as well as how they affect each other.
Definitions:
Facts
Facts are what we sense in the natural.
At the wedding at Cana, Jesus saw the servants place water into six stone water jars (John 2). The fact in the natural was that water was what existed at that moment.
Another day, Jesus arrived at Bethany to visit friends. He was confronted with a very serious fact, his friend Lazarus was dead (John 11)!
Moses was faced with the fact that he had led the Israelites out into the desert and they had no water to drink (Exodus 15). After three days, they found some water, but it was bitter and could not be consumed. The people were turning on him. The facts were very real and dangerous!
Isaac was experiencing one of the worst famines of his lifetime (Genesis 26). Yet, the fact was that his family needed food. He prepared to move his family to Egypt, where he could resettle and plant crops.
One day, Peter and John were on their way to the Temple. As they entered the gate called "Beautiful", they were confronted by a man who had been lame since birth - about 40 years (Acts 3)!
In 1 Kings 17, Elijah is commanded by God to travel. He has no food or water. As he follows God's leading he arrives at a brook, where he is able to drink. Still, he has no food, a fact he could not ignore
Truth:
Truth is best defined by the Bible itself:
John 17:17: "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth".
Psalm 119:160: "The sum of Your word is truth"
Truth is found in God's Word, the Bible. Whatever God says is truth, even when it contradicts known facts. In God's order, truth is higher than facts.
Let's look back at the examples listed above and how the truth affected the facts:
The wedding at Cana was mesmerized as the water in the six stone jars was changed to wine. The fact was that water was placed in the jars. However, as the servants obeyed Jesus' words and dipped into the water, they pulled out wine! The facts had to line up with the truth of Jesus' words!
At Bethany, Jesus called Lazarus from his tomb. The fact, Lazarus was dead, surrendered to the truth of God's command and Lazarus lived!
As Moses prayed about no water after three days, God showed him a tree and told Moses to throw it into the bitter water. As that tree hit the water, the water became sweet and the Israelites were able to drink. Once again, the facts were transformed by the truth!
God instructed Isaac not to move to Egypt, despite the famine. Isaac obeyed God's word and planted crops during a famine! As the truth overrode the facts, Isaac received a 100 fold return on those crops.
Peter and John knew some truth. They knew that by the stripes of Jesus we are healed (1 Peter 2:24). With that word from God in mind, they commanded the lame man to rise and and walk. As the truth overcame the facts, the man walked away, carrying his bed, for the first time in his life.
Elijah was facing the fact that he had no food. Still, he had obeyed God's word. Soon, ravens began feeding him! This continued everyday until the brook he was drinking from dried up. Then God directed him to a widow for food. The fact was that she and her son had no food, other than a small amount of flour for bread and they resigned themselves to the fact that they would soon die from starvation. Elijah told her God's command - give him some of the bread! She and her son were to eat some also. Elijah went on to tell her that God's Word was that the flour would not run out until the drought ended. And that's exactly what happened as the truth prevailed over the facts.
The truth always overrides the facts. However, there is a bridge between the two that is important to understand: faith.
When faced with a terrible fact, we must choose to believe God's Word instead. Find God's promises and choose to believe them over the facts. That is the beginning of the bridge of faith. The next part is to act upon the truth!
The servants at the wedding at Cana chose to act upon Jesus' words. Their very lives could have been at stake had they brought water to their master. Yet, they still chose to obey
Lazarus may have been quite comfortable in Paradise. Yet, he chose to obey Jesus and walk out of that tomb. By the way, the men who rolled away the stone from the tomb also chose to believe the truth and obey Jesus' words.
Moses acted by throwing the tree into the bitter water and commanding the people to drink. Did he look foolish throwing a tree into the water? What would have happened if someone drank afterward and became ill or died? Yet, despite the danger, he chose to obey the truth.
Isaac believed the truth to the point that he placed his own life, and his family's, at stake by staying in Israel during a famine. He also obeyed the truth by planting a crop during a famine.
The lame man, who had never walked before, had to get up and walk. He could have looked at his limp legs and made excuses not to, but he chose to obey God's word.
Elijah obeyed God and traveled to the brook. He also obeyed God by taking a good portion of the bread that the widow had remaining to feed himself.
I'm reminded of God's words to Joshua in Joshua, chapter 1. He tells Joshua to be courageous in obeying the truth of God's Word. This courage marked Joshua's life and brought him success after success, as the truth of God's Word overcame the facts he was presented with.
Unfortunately, the Church is full of non-acting believers. They say that they believe God's Word, but are too fearful to act. Consequently, the facts remain unchanged. The amazing thing is that they blame God for this! However, the fault is not with God. It is with the lack of action.
As James stated, "For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead" (James 2:26). The Greek word translated "works" here is more correctly translated "corresponding action".
In other words, if you won't do what you say you believe, the whole process that God set up (truth overcoming facts) is derailed and the facts remain.
My question then is, what will you do when faced with your next unpleasant fact? If you choose to believe God and act upon His Word, a miracle awaits you.
About the author
The author, Dr. Paul Graden, is the founder of The Joseph Gate. The Joseph Gate is a free web site with intensive training in Biblical methods to determine the meanings of dreams. You can view the information site at
http://www.josephgate.com. To begin your personal journey, go to
http://www.josephgate.com/wp.
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