“I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie.” Jeremiah 29:31
In Jeremiah’s letter to the captives found in Jeremiah 29, he gave the timeline of the Jewish captivity in Babylon. The false prophets were forecasting brief captivity of a few years, and Jeremiah was giving directions that were far different. Seventy years of captivity would pass before Israel would return to Canaan, Jeremiah prophesied.
Ouch! That is a sharp and painful truth to face! Seven decades of perpetual captivity. How do you handle the truth? Some of you just saw Jack Nicholson screaming at Tom Cruise, “You can’t handle the truth!” Didn’t you?
How we respond, and more importantly, how we live the truth is incredibly important to our peace of mind, experiencing God’s blessing, and receiving God’s best in the future. We ignore truth at our peril. And this is Jeremiah’s message to the captives in Jeremiah 29. We can distill at least three takeaways about truth from Jeremiah’s letter to the captives.
Embrace the Truth
“Better to be slapped with the truth than kissed with a lie.” – Russian Proverb
If I lived in Jeremiah’s day, exiled from my homeland, captive in a faraway country, living among people who spoke a foreign language, practicing different customs and traditions, and worshipping gods, I did not know; there is nothing I would want more than to go home! The sooner, the better! However, Jeremiah spoke the truth that was not pleasant for the captives; they would be in Babylon seventy years before they would be released. Maybe you have received a similar message of truth.
Truth can be harsh, painful, and tough to swallow. But, it is the truth that sets us free!
Embracing truth allows us to plan productive next steps in life. For instance, have you ever not opened your bank statement or, worse, your credit card statement? Sometimes it is just easier to pretend a problem does not exist than face the truth. But it is not until you embrace the facts that you can take productive, healing, next steps.
The same thing happens when “slapped” with spiritual truth. Some find it easier to ignore than to deal with the facts of their spiritual condition. As the Russian proverb admonishes, “We would rather be kissed by a lie.” But until we face the reality that apart from faith in Jesus Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection, we will face judgment for our transgressions, we cannot take the productive step of faith and forgiveness that God offers.
Trust the Truth
Proverbs 3:5-6 puts it this way, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.”
Once we have embraced the truth, we must trust the facts. Believing the truth sounds so simple, but the practice of it can be so challenging. Jeremiah encourages the captives to make themselves at home in Babylon, plant a garden, marry their sweetheart, raise a family, and enjoy their grandchildren! It seems a little counter-intuitive, make yourself at home, and don’t try to escape (Jeremiah 29:4-6).
When we embrace the truth, our reaction can be to make our plan rather than follow God’s directions. Jeremiah’s message included an encouragement to follow God’s plan and live God’s plan rather than devise their solution.
The moment we lean on our understanding is the moment we stop trusting the truth. For instance, when confronted by the truth of our sinful condition before a holy God, we must believe the truth He has provided for us. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father but by me.” Many world religions flourish today as a result of not trusting this truth.
Live the Truth
Once we embrace truth and trust it, God wants us to live the truth. The life of a Christ-follower is marked by more than beliefs and doctrines. It should be defined by how we live! Meditate on these principles found in scripture:
“But speaking the truth in love…” (Ephesians 4:15) Though we may speak truth to others, let us be careful that we wrap truth in love. Truth cuts and can be damaging, and therefore, we must be careful how we present the truth to others. Too fast, too much, too long, and we can do more harm than good!
“…but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” (Philippians 2:3) God desires us to live as servant leaders, and this requires us to remain humble. The English Standard Version puts it this way, “but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” These are words to live by each day.
For truth to work, we must put it into action! Knowing the truth is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Living the truth is not putting tomatoes in a fruit salad!
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thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU! holy, Holy, HOLY! I realized this when something caused me to pray for discernment…for myself and others…either enough to sort through what was deceptive and/or abundantly in the gift of discernment. Recently, I was so groggy from the deception of others and trying to understand what was going on I not only forgot specific details but my age. That happened when I turned thirty. Ah! How time flies. I will go back on each detail to get it right but what do we do when the deceiver mixed many of us up, presented a lie, and people relied upon it? It goes so far back, what if we forgot? Walking in truth, being bent to the truth, living in truth, knowing truth, being reminded of truth, even what was known to us prior to the reminders, have been life-saving principles. I am trusting in Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I will let you know, there was evidence of deception in the world today, so we will need to trust God for discernment. Alert? Ready? Groggy? Not? Trusting in the truth of God. Thank you for presenting this in a unique way with newness.
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