la vérité de Dieu

"for they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. amen." - Romans 1:25 NASB

i was reading through romans yesterday and came across this verse. now i've read romans probably close to twenty times in my lifetime, and i could have sworn that i've never read this verse before. i must have, because i have read this chapter. in fact the verse was underlined, so yes, i have read it before. but i never have thought about it. what does it mean to exchange the truth of God for a lie? and why did that resonate so much in my heart?

i've been wrestling with a lot of doubt lately, though i think that every one does at some point in their college career. i think, overall, the biggest doubt that has crossed my mind in the past year is this: why am i alive. which stems into almost a million and one sub-doubts, like did God really create me with a purpose, does He really love me, why am I here, what am I supposed to be doing, is God really working in my life, is God really directing my life, does he really have a plan? i'm sure you each have your own sub-doubts you could add to this. a friend told me a couple days ago that he knew he was exactly where God wanted him to be right now. who knows about the future, but for right now he was sure he was where he was supposed to be. and it got me thinking: am i where God wants me to be right now?

lets look at the word truth.

truth

   [trooth]  Show IPA

noun

1.

the true or actual state of a matter

2.

a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like

3.

the state or character of being true.

4.

actuality or actual existence.

now truth actually stems from the word true.

true

   [troo]  Show IPA 

adjective

1.

being in accordance with the actual state or conditions;conforming to reality or fact; not false

2.

real; genuine; authentic

3.

sincere; not deceitful

4.

firm in allegiance; loyal; faithful; steadfast

5.

being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something

so truth is real, genuine, authentic, sincere, not deceitful. 

one of the biggest ways that i think the devil gets to people is through lies, especially to women. even in the last week i can think of many lies i myself have thought, as well as many lies i have heard. lies like i'm not good enough, not pretty/handsome enough, not smart enough, i don't have enough friends, i'm not very talented, i'm not that cool, God can't use me, i've done too much to be used by God, i'm not **insert qualification here**;. so then we take those lies and start to believe them. but the lies work like little bulldozers: they tear down the walls made out of truths. but the more they tear down the more energy and power they gain, because the walls of truth are getting shorter and shorter and can't keep very many lies out. then they replace the walls made of truth with walls made of lies. 

i remember last week thinking that God didn't really have a plan for my life. i mean, how could He? i'm not incredibly smart, and i can't play sports to save my life, and i have so many heart issues that i can't seem to deal with - so why in the world would He have a plan for me. however, God's truth says that He knows the plans He has for me, and they are plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me a hope and a future (jeremiah 29:11). but as soon as i started to even contemplate the devil's lie, i began to exchange God's truth for a lie. 

how about dealing with self worth? not pretty enough, not skinny enough, not the right hair, etc. well the truth of God says that you are fearfully and wonderfully made (psalm 139:14). exchanging the truth of beauty for a lie.

the lie that God doesn't really love you or want to bless you? it is God's desire to lavish his love on you (1 john 3:1) and he will rejoice over you with singing (zephaniah 3:17) for you are his treasured possession (exodus 19:5) exchanging the truth of love for a lie.

what about thinking that God will never use your desires, that He won't give you a job you actually enjoy? that you are destined to doing what you don't like? it is God who gave you the desires (philippians 2:13, ephesians 3:20) and he created you with them. exchanging the truth of creativity for a lie.

you've done too much for Him to love/use you? He is not counting your sins (2 corinthians 5:18-19) and there is nothing that can seperate you from His love (romans 8:38-39) exchanging the truth of forgiveness for a lie.

we exchange the truth of God for a lie almost all the time. but thats actually really stupid. because were taking the words of the devil, someone who is know for lying and stealing and cheating and there are countless accounts of his deceit in the Bible, to replace God's word, someone who is faithful and true, who never lies, who has never given us a reason not to believe him. if you think about it, its really stupid.

final thing: context. 

"for since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. for even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened...therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. for they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. amen...and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved" (romans 1:20-21, 24-25, 28)

exchanging the truth of God for a lie is not a measly matter. it is actually quite ghastly. because these people exchanged God's truth for a lie, they dug themselves a dugout in the heart of the devils deceit and eventually God just gave them over to the deceit. 

so i guess that the reason for writing this is just for encouragement. to encourage anyone who is struggling with the devil's lies to pursue God's truth. and to take captive that truth and believe that instead of the lies. God is a God of truth. and He desires for you to live in truth, and not be held captive by lies.

the truth will set you free. 

***many of the scripture references above came from this publication: father's love letter *** Father's Love Letter used by permission Father Heart Communications © 1999-2011 www.FathersLoveLetter.com