Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. – Proverbs
4:23 (NLT)
Have you ever stopped to think about WHY we need to guard our hearts…and, more importantly, what we need to guard them from? To explain this, we need to talk about two different types of truth:
The first truth is what we at The Trek call Capital “T” Truths.
These are words spoken by God and they are ALWAYS true, whether we choose to believe them or not. In Romans 5:8, we’re told:
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still
sinners. – Romans 5:8 (NLT)
Now we can choose to believe that God could never love us, but does that change God’s mind? Nope! Whether we choose to believe God’s words or not, this is Truth with a Capital “T” because God spoke it! Our choice to reject this Truth doesn’t change reality…it just means we miss out on a relationship with a God who loves us and sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us.
The second truth is what we call little “t” truths.
These are things that we choose to believe, even when we can prove that they’re not true. Let’s continue our example: I can sit in church, I can read Romans 5:8, and I can KNOW that God loves me, but what happens if I can’t BELIEVE it? How is something like that possible? Because even though you’re speaking
Capital “T” Truth to me, I may already have a little “t” truth in my heart that prevents me from understanding – or even hearing! – the Truth you are trying to share with me.
If I grew up in a family where my parents constantly told me or showed me (or both) that I was unlovable if I came to believe that little “t” truth, then how am I going to respond when you tell me that God loves me? I will reject it. I will believe, deep down inside, that God can love everyone except me! Why? Because the little “t” truth in my life is that I am simply…unlovable…
When we’re confronted by two different, opposing truths – especially Truth vs. truth –
Which one wins?
The answer is usually, “Which one was in my heart first?”
Please understand that I am NOT taking away from God’s ability to heal us. I have seen people with
some truly horrific little “t” truths in their lives throw them away, trust God, and pursue Him without
ever looking back! But the rest of us are on the “slow path”; we need to battle with the little “t’s” in
our heart each and every day.
So, how do we do that?
There are a lot of Bible passages we could look at, but let turn to Philippians:
… Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely,
and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. – Philippians
4:8b (NLT)
We fight little “t’s” in our lives by turning from the lies that have been placed in our hearts by other
humans and focusing on the Truth spoken by God. We repeat God’s promises to ourselves and we let
Him define us. This can take time, it’s not an easy path, but you’re worth it! And you’ll find that
God’s worth it, too!
From all of us at The Trek, we hope you enjoy your journey!
Barry Rudesill is a Pastor, speaker, and co-creator of The Trek. (www.thetrek.org)
