Fact And Truth

Last night's session of Rebuilding the Foundations had some interesting ideas and concepts. The first that caught my attention was the statement that Fact and Truth are not necessarily the same thing. Hmmmm. Our leaders discussed taking a Fact or experience and turning it into a belief that does not line up with God's Truth. That ungodly belief can, in time, become an expectation that influences the way we behave. Our behavior then affects the experiences we have...and we have found ourselves on a Ferris-wheel spinning out of control.

For example, here is a possible scenario based on the fact that my husband molested our granddaughters and the fact that the news is full of reports of similar stories. I could take those facts and develop the idea that all men are uncontrolled sexual jerks--definitely not God's Truth. My developing idea of jerkdom then morphs into an ungodly belief that men really are uncontrolled sexual jerks. From there, my newly formed ungodly belief system could affect me to the point of believing that anyone having an ounce of testosterone in his body could not be trusted anywhere near a female.

So, from the simple fact that some men, including my husband, molest children, I would ultimately talk about and think about men in ways that absolutely do not line up with God's Truth about them. I would expect nothing but the worst from a man. When that happens, I wouldn't see the good in the male sex at all, but only the behavior I expect. Any man I saw with a child would become suspect. I would become a bitter, suspicious, hateful woman who totally believes her ungodly belief. When and if I finally realize I have a problem and need help, this whole messed up mind of mine will not have to deal with the Fact that some men molest children, but instead with finding God's Truth-filled words that will  heal my deep seated trust/love/hate issues.

By evening's end, we were all encouraged to look at our beliefs about ourselves, others, and life in general, and then determine if those beliefs are based on God's truths or our own ungodly beliefs. The next step was to forgive whoever it was who influenced the Fact that gave rise to our ungodly belief, forgive ourselves for buying into the ungodly beliefs, renounce the enemy's influence, and declare God's Truth in our life. There is power in proclaiming God's words.

This brings me to the second concept, not unlike the first, the idea a self-curses. In other words, by the words I say, I can pronounce curses upon myself. When I say things like, I can't help it--it's just the way I am, I can't do anything right, I will never be good enough, I'm a loser, no one likes me, I will never be loved for who I am, or I worthless, I am saying things that God would never say to me. I am cursing myself by pronouncing the enemy's words upon myself and putting myself into a form of bondage. I think we have all done some of this from time to time.

As we did with ungodly beliefs, we looked at the words we speak to and of ourselves that are definitely not from God. We prayed for discernment for the origins of our self images (for many of us, these were in early childhood) We forgave those involved as well as ourselves for buying into them. We renounced the enemy and his influence. And we proclaimed the promises of God for our lives. This is where the true power is.

 I am a beloved child of God. Now, that is both Fact and God's Truth.

Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he."


 Desiring the thoughts in my heart to be God's thoughts,
Jan