Truths Depth



Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. (Ps 51:6 NKJ)

At first glance, I thought this passage was about doctrine. Truth equals doctrine right? That's what I've thought for a long, long time. But as I contemplate, meditate, marinate on this passage and see how God has been working in my life the past few years I realize that isn't true. God wants the truth about Him to penetrate to my inward and hidden parts. He desires it so much that he'll even use pain, trials, and tribulations to get it through to me.

John Eldredge, in Waking the Dead, wrote,
"...having a doctrine pass before the mind is not what the Bible means by knowing the truth. It's only when it reaches down deep into the heart that the truth begins to set us free..." I am far too easily satisfied with just understanding a doctrine with my mind. God is all knowing, all powerful, all loving, etc. But God wants those truths to penetrate deeply into my soul, my inner most being...where it will last forever.

Let's take an example from the physical world. Think of something you can just instinctively do like drive a stick shift, hit a golf ball, or rollerblade. Have you ever tried to teach someone how to do that? Why is it so hard? Because knowing how to do these things doesn't just come by reading a text book. It took trial and error, as well as some lessons possibly to embed that knowledge into our psyche and muscle memory.


Same for me...I'm not the best golfer in the world, for one thing I can concentrate for 5-6 hours. But I've found a swing that works for me...most of the time. Now if someone asked me to teach them that swing I'd have to shrug my shoulders and say, "I don't know how I do it." Because I actually don't. I took a 30 min lesson once and it stuck...really that's it.


It's the same thing with
truth...how do we teach people a truth that we have learned from God? In many ways, it is just like the physical example we would have to say, "I don't know" because God's truths are deeper than we can even say...they are in our inward parts.

Let's take for example the truth that God loves us. This truth can pass through our minds, we can even intellectually understand it. It seems to make sense a good God would love and all. But has it penetrated? When the chips are down do we instinctively believe this? God desires that this truth would be in our heart and soul. So how does this happen? Here are a couple of ways that work for me...this is kinda like telling you a golf swing is about tempo and timing so just use these as a start to find your own way:


  1. Let HIM speak - God speaks to me many times through the Bible (a passage like the one above that just won't go away if you know what I mean) or my circumstances (what is God trying to teach me through this?). I find I need to let Him speak and not ignore the inner promptings or gloss over my circumstances.
  2. Marinate - when I find a passage that God is speaking to me, like the one above, I have a "soul conversation" with God about it...sometimes for days.
  3. Run it by someone - often when deep truths are hitting me I'll share it with my wife and/or some trusted friends, this gives me even deeper understanding through other's eyes.

We live in a VERY busy world. In many cases, we have allowed ourselves to get too busy to do the above, but the fact is we live in a world that expects much from us. C.S. Lewis said, "We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship." Amen.

The amazing thing is that God's desire is for truth to penetrate to the deepest parts of our hearts for then it becomes wisdom. Wisdom for living well, loving well, and understanding God well. Next time a truth hits you don't let it stop with your mind...remember to let HIM speak, marinate on it, and run it by someone. Soon that truth will become instinctual...God knows you need it for what it to come.

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