When we feel the despair of sorrow, pain, or loss creeping into our soul and stealing our joy, the last thing that we sometimes feel like doing is sitting down and perusing the Bible. The frustration and grief feel too real, and reading seems too insufficient as a remedy.

But this is the wonder of God’s Word — when we are in the midst of affliction, it is only this Book, with its wonderful promises, startling standards, and exalted view of God, that can give us hope and help and healing. This is because God does not avoid the reality of our suffering, but rather infuses it with purpose and meaning. When we see that God is actively at work in his creation, and is molding his people into the image of his Son, then suddenly suffering takes on a silver lining.

May David’s comfort be your comfort, dear reader, in the midst of your affliction. May God’s Word quicken your crushed and despairing heart. May you see, in the pages of his epistle to you, that his love is just as true and full, his rule is just as good and powerful, and his wisdom is just as perfect and right in our times of affliction as it is in our times of prosperity.

The Truth of God

What is truth? Various generations have had different ways of answering that question. It is a popular belief in today’s culture that truth can be whatever you want it to be. This is the idea that truth is relative and unique to every individual person.

But if everyone lives their own truth, then nobody can truly know which one is right. And if one person’s truth contradicts another person’s truth, then one of them must be wrong.

Scripture tells us that there is an objective truth available to us that we can live by. Rather than truth being grounded in the individual, it is grounded in something much bigger than ourselves. Truth is sourced from God.

God is the Ruler and Creator of the universe, and the one from whom truth and beauty come. God’s Word contains the truths that He has spoken to us so that we might live according to His truth.

Jesus says that His teachings are true because they come from God. He goes on to say that anyone who knows the truth will be set free in their life by the truth of God.

When we know the truth, we are no longer living according to a lie. God’s truth illuminates our life and shows us true reality. This is why Jesus says that the truth will set us free. We become truly free to live according to how God designed us to live.

An important part of learning what is true and what isn’t is reading God’s Word. He has spoken to us through His Word, and all that He has spoken is true. When we read and memorize God’s Word, we learn more and more about God.

Take some time today to thank God for revealing Himself to us through His Word, and for illuminating our lives with His truth.