The Truth That Sets Free

The Truth That Sets Free

"…and you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free…" John 8:32

One of the most significant milestones in my Christian walk is when I received the very powerful revelation that TRUTH NULLIFIES FACT. TRUTH IS GREATER AND MORE POWERFUL THAN FACT! What is TRUTH? And what is fact?

Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the life…."(John 14:6) As He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, He said, "Lord, your Word is Truth. Sanctify them through Thy Truth; Thy Word is Truth." (John 17:17) Before that He told His disciples, " I have much more to say to you, more than you can bear. But when He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all Truth." (John 16:12-13)

This revelation gave me a boldness and confidence in prayer that transformed my life and changed my testimony. Before I used to say that since I came home to the Philippines, my life had been a series of one difficulty after another. For several years I could not get over the "transplant shock" as I moved from my comfortable life in America, leaving behind a lucrative medical transcription business to zero means of living in the Philippines. The obstacles to continue following Christ were just too daunting, and I was beginning to lose hope that I, like a cut-off pruned branch, would ever take root again. Then one day the Lord spoke to me almost audibly. "My Word is Truth!" I thought about it long and hard. Then I embarked on a diligent search of the Scriptures, listing down every Truth that nullified the Facts that I was seeing with my eyes. I was penniless, homeless, and sick, with four children to feed and send to school. This was the Philippines, not America, and all I had was hope, hope that was slowly dissipating.

The facts? The fact was the ultrasound results revealed multiple myomas in my uterus, and four specialists had said surgery was the only remedy. The Truth, however, is Jesus bore on His body all my infirmities and by His stripes I have been healed (Isaiah 53:5; 1Peter 2:4). Moreover, Jesus Himself said, "Have faith in God. I tell you the Truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go throw yourself into the sea' and not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mark 11:24) The fact was the rice bin was empty and it was almost dinnertime. But the Truth is, Our God will meet all our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19) He Who is concerned about the birds and feeds them, is likewise concerned about us and will feed us, even richly provide us with everything we need even for our enjoyment (Matt 5:26), 1Tim 6:17) The fact was the Meralco (power) bill showed a notice of disconnection due tomorrow. But the Truth is, "No one whose hope is in You will ever be put to shame." (Psalm 25:3)

When we know that we know that what we are praying is the Truth, we can have that boldness and the confidence to stand our ground that what we are asking for is God's will for us. As believers, we have been given the privilege of being called His children (John 1:12), so with confidence we can say, "Our Father Who is in heaven," and we can say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, My God in Him will I trust." (Psalm 91:1) My boldness to come to Him is rooted in the knowledge of the Truth that He is my Heavenly Father, my Abba, my loving Shepherd, my Provider, my Healer, my Strength, my Husband, my Maker, the Father of the fatherless, which makes Him the Father of my fatherless children (Psalm 10:14, Isaiah 54:5).

What else is Truth? Our privilege as believers comes with a package of blessings which is summarized in 1 Peter 1:3: "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him Who called us by His own glory and goodness." Furthermore we have been made recipients of the covenant promises God made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through the blood of Jesus. He will maintain His love for us and His covenant with us shall never fail." (Psalm 89:28). "And we know that no matter how many promises God has made, they are all "Yes" in Christ. And so through Him, the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God." (2 Cor 1:20). Finally, the knowledge of His omnipresence should give us confidence in the Truth that the moment we call upon Him, heaven's door are flung wide open and we are face-to-face with Jesus, His light shining from the throne of grace upon us, and we can be sure that He is hearing every word we are saying (Hebrews 4:16). Equipped with the knowledge of these Truths, we can then act with authority (Luke 9:1). Luke 10:19, Matt 28:18, Rev 12:10)

All these, however, come to nothing if there is sin in our lives. When the enemy can make no claims on us, if he cannot find anything to accuse us of, we can have confident assurance of our prayers being answered. "The righteous are as bold as a lion (Proverbs 28:1) "Beloved if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask (1 John 3:21).

As I hung on to the Truth, I have never been disappointed. The myomas left and I was healed without medication or surgery. The rice bin went empty many times, but was soon filled up just in time. Over the years, there was always a miracle provision and never did we have to skip meals. Many Meralco bills came with a disconnection notice, but the Lord has always been faithful to fulfill His Word. Deuteronomy 28 declares, He will bless the fruit of my womb and will give me abundant prosperity in them. True enough, my four children have now finished college – one, even went to graduate school in Europe, and by the grace of God, they have all been blessed with a degree of success that every parent can be happy about. Thus, today, I have changed my dialogue: "My life has been a series of miracles, of one blessing after another!"