Truth Defined: What is Truth?Sýnishorn

When you go swimming in the ocean, it’s quite common to look up and discover that you’re no longer lined up to where you left your towel and shoes on the beach. In fact, you realize that you got caught up in a current without even realizing it, and you’ve drifted pretty far from where you were when you started. 

It’s possible to experience the same kind of drift in our relationship with God. Instead of ocean currents , the forces that move you away from where you started can simply be a busy schedule or as complicated as bitterness over what you think God has either done or failed to do.

So what’s the biblical equivalent of making your way back to where you started at the beach? In today’s verses, the Psalmist lays out the steps to getting lined up again with God and his purposes.

First, praise him. Start to name the attributes or qualities of God. If you can, write them down or say them out loud. Declaring the nature of God reminds us how good and trustworthy he is. 

Second, recognize and respond to God's truth. Truth is anything that agrees with what God has said in the Bible and what God has created. Acknowledge that you have drifted and that you want to return to where you were.

And third, commit to making the additions or deletions in your life–relationships, habits, thoughts, or actions–that will keep you lined up with God’s truth and purposes. 

1 John 1:5-10 reminds us that God is true and when we confess our sins that cause us to drift, he forgives us and we live in light and truth.

What is one area of your life where you realize you have drifted away from God? What is something you can do immediately to reverse that ‘drift’ and get back to where you need to be?