DAY 5

ABSOLUTE TRUTH

NIKKI CATHERINCCHIA, TEACHING PASTOR

I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

—1 John 5:13–14

There is a worldly concept called the “Law of Attraction.” In a nutshell, the thought process behind this is that positive thoughts bring about positive results, and negative thoughts bring about negative results. Essentially, this means your mindset has a direct effect on your experiences. This thinking is at the forefront of the philosophies that have so many people seeking to “live their best life,” to “live their truth,” to “manifest” what they desire. In a “me- centric” culture, it is these sayings that have become the banner of a generation. Yet, it has been noted that 1 of every 4 people in Gen Z struggles with anxiety and emotional distress—double of what has been noted about their predecessors, the Millennial generation. Could it be that the desire to be the authors and the definers of truth, to be the masters of our own destiny and the pursors of our own will is causing the human soul confusion and pain rather than peace and fulfillment?

When the world denies that there is absolute truth, the result is undeniable chaos. Turn on any news station, and the proof is right before our eyes. For so long we have been in the pursuit of our own will that many have forgotten whose will we were actually created for. From the onset of God’s recorded story, we see that all of creation was created by the hand of God, according to the will of God, and for God’s purposes alone. Any so-called truth outside of that absolute truth is a deception. This includes any truth about humanity; you and me, and every person that is living has ever lived and will ever live. Right in Genesis chapter 1, the truth about humanity is revealed.

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”

—Genesis 1:26–28 (NLT)

When the Triune God declared that we would be like Father, Son and Holy Spirit, created in their image, He was not releasing little gods to run around doing whatever feels good and right to us. He was creating humanity to be a living reflection of His heart, His holiness, His goodness, and His love. The greatest lie the enemy ever told was the one he whispered to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden—the lie that essentially told them that God’s ways were not best, that they were better off seeking the desires of their own hearts rather than being obedient to God's desires. Of course, as we know, they succumbed to the lie, and the result was NOT that Adam and Eve got to live their best life. Not by a long shot. For a brief moment, deception led them to follow their own will, to believe their own truth, and the fallout was catastrophic. It unleashed sin and destruction into our world and into the human experience. And the ripple effect is still washing over humanity like a tidal wave that is ever present today.

However, as the people of God, by the blood of Jesus Christ, we have been restored to God’s original intention for us. Our desire to live our best life and to live our own way are the very nails that hung our Savior to the cross. When we receive Jesus as our Lord, we declare God’s will, not our own, be done. This truth, my friends, radically changes the things we long for and the way we pray. This isn’t to say that we cannot pray for things like health and safety and love and provision. Of course we can. However, when we pray, we pray according to God’s will. His desires, His heart, His holiness are what we should be seeking every time we lift up our prayers. Prayers for ourselves, prayers for others, prayers for our community, our country, and our world should all come from a place of, “God Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Roman church, we don’t conform to the thinking and behaviors of this world; rather our minds are renewed by Christ Jesus. So today the question for all of us is, whose will do we long for? Are we still trying to live our best lives, or are we trying to live in a way that brings honor and glory to the One who created us? Do we long to manifest our own destiny and hope God blesses it, or do we want to see His will on earth and in our lives as it is in heaven? You see, we have a heavenly Father that longs to give us good gifts. In fact, the Scriptures tell us that glorious riches of heaven have been made available to us through Christ Jesus. However, this is not our ticket to easy street or the pass to always get what we want when we want it. Nor does it place us in a bubble where nothing bad can ever happen. What it does give us is the confident hope that every single one of God’s promises are absolutely true,that and when we fully surrender our lives to Him, when we trust in His will and His ways, the peace that surpasses all understanding can and will be ours. That is an absolute truth we can all stand on!

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, today I hold nothing back from You. I surrender my whole self to You. My will, my desires, the longings of my heart. Father, would You align all of those with what You desire. Father, I long for Your will. No matter what season this prayer finds me in I will not be shaken for Your promises are true and You never fail. I stand on your absolute truth and trust you with my whole heart and with those that I love today and always. In Jesus Name, amen.