The Hard Truth

Mark 14:27, 29, ‘Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night”…Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.”

What do you do when God’s Son tells you that His arch enemy is coming for you? Go into shock, start laughing, tell Jesus to stop playin’ or do you just sit there in silence? I mean how do you accept that type of truth? That type of truth is what I refer to as the ‘hard truth’. It’s like when Jesus said, ‘For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.’ (John 6:55) But ‘many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can understand it?’ And many of them ‘went back and walked with Him no more.’ (John 6:66) It wasn’t that it was hard; it’s that they didn’t understand. Likewise, Peter didn’t understand how he - the bold, brazen boss of the crew - could be ‘sifted’ and ‘made to stumble’.

So one day I asked the Spirit of the Lord ‘What do you do when you can’t understand the truth?’ And He led me to Matthew 13:19, ‘When anyone hears the word of the kingdom (which is the truth),and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.’ Understand means ‘to grasp the meaning of and to value it.’ Therefore, in order for Peter, me, or you to understand the hard truth, we would have to grasp and value it; which led me to shake my head and ask, ‘How do you grasp the meaning and value the hard truth?’ Truths like your husband is having an affair, your boyfriend is molesting your son, your daughter is a lesbian, or that you have stage 4 cancer.

And once again, the Holy Spirit replied (not in an audible voice but in my spirit), ‘It’s not that you can’t understand it, you choose not to! If you make the decision to RECEIVE and ACCEPT the truth by faith– regardless as to whether you understand it, you stay protected. If you don’t, the truth will still happen; only you won't be in a position to overcome.’

There comes a time when you must accept the truth; whether you like it or not, whether you understand it or not. When you choose not to accept it, you put yourself in a position to be deceived – even while the truth is going on. Did Peter not accepting the truth change the situation? No. Did he stumble? Yes. Did Satan still sift him? Yes. There are some hard truths you’re going to have to accept about yourself; your spouse, your children, your family, and even your God. Choose to accept them by faith because remember, Jesus is ‘the way, the TRUTH, and the life.’ (John 14:6) He’s only trying to reveal the truth to you, so that you can be set free. (John 8:32)

Pray this with me: Heavenly Father, please forgive me when I refused to accept the truth. I didn’t understand or think that it was possible; yet I see, my denial didn’t change the situation. Lord, show me what I can do and please give me the grace to make it through. And like Peter, when I do, I will strengthen my brethren. In Jesus’ name.

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