“Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.”
Psalm 25:4-5 NLT
It’s logical really. In theory, if we knew the perfect truth then we would have the perfect teaching and we would walk the perfect road throughout our lives. The problem is that we are sinful and imperfect human beings and we hear what God says in imperfect ways, if at all There is a verse at the end of Judges – “ … all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25b). And that’s the root of the human ailment. We start with whatever seems best to us rather than what seems best to God. Proverbs 14:12 reminds us, “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death“. But thankfully there is Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding“. There is much truth contained in the Book of Proverbs.
So how do we find God’s truth, so that we can be led by it? There is a hint from David here, because these verses in Psalm 25 read like a prayer. So we pilgrims pray for God to reveal to us His truth, in faith, as David was, that he will answer our prayers. Jesus told His disciples, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come” (John 16:13). We pilgrims have the Spirit of Truth living within us, ready and waiting to be called upon in our prayers.
But we start from the premise that God is truth. That’s what He is. That’s what He has always been and will always be. It’s in His DNA. In John 18:37 we read about Jesus’ response to Pilate. “Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognise that what I say is true””. Pilate followed with the cynical response “What is truth”, which is where our world has been ever since sin entered through Adam. In John 8:31-32 we read, “Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free””.
We find God’s truth in His Word, and we need to live our lives in the light of His truth. But the way of the world is living in the darkness of lies. Lies are the opposite to truth, and they have permeated our societies at various levels. Some lies are blatantly obvious and they are exposed in the law courts or similar places, but others are more subtle and embedded in our society, even being taught in our schools. I can remember my daughter pointing out to her biology teacher that evolution was just a theory and was not the absolute truth about the origins of life, a brave thing to do in a secular environment. Our politicians are sadly prone to tell lies about what they would achieve if elected to government, only to forget the promises they made once elected. Lies can also be subtle, holding a hint of truth to give them traction, but they are still lies in the end. There is also a tendency to tell “white” lies, perhaps to a loved one who we think would be distressed if they knew the truth about, for example, their medical condition. But we pilgrims are obliged to tell the truth, and we ask God to help us choose the right words for the occasion.
Jesus was all about truth, because He was, and is, God and could not tell a lie. Sometimes He prefaced His teachings with the word, “Truly …”, or as the old KJV puts it, “Verily, verily …”. John 5:24. “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life”. When we read Jesus’ confirmation that what He was about to say was true, then we need to sit up and take notice. Again, God doesn’t lie. So we pilgrims ask God to simply guide us in His ways of truth. There is no other path available to a believer in Jesus.
Dear Lord, Heavenly Father, we are grateful that you have blessed us with the bounty and richness of our lives. We pray you, God, look down upon us and see fit to share with us the truth of your ways. We wish to know your will, that we may follow it till the end of our days, ever praising you and glorifying your name. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 