Leave it to the professionals.

Honesty. There are so many sayings regarding honesty, the most famous being: the truth shall set you free. We also hear this other phrase often (especially in 2020): to live your truth. I’m not really sure what that means. All I know is the truth is the truth.  You can have “your” truth only if it’s the actual truth. You can turn on your TV every single day and watch the news and see different versions of the truth politically and culturally speaking and several arguments can be made about what those actual truths are. I wonder, though, what is the truth about our own lives? Are we all being honest about how we feel and about what we want? And if we aren’t being honest with ourselves…why not? It’s a very big question to be answered. Honesty is something that can change lives. However, will it change your life for the good or for the bad?

Unfortunately, with everything else in life, there can be some negative consequences with being honest. When we think about the truth, sometimes fear can roll in like a ten-ton tractor trailer and park itself right over our hearts. That weight can be deathly, and I mean that literally. When we are scared it can feel like we are dying. Have any of you ever had a panic attack? They are one of the most awful human experiences to be had. Fear is one of the strongest emotions in our lives. And it is something God warns us about over and over and over and over again. The Bible teaches us to “fear not!” It is said that the Bible mentions this imperative statement about 365 times. What an interesting coincidence that the number mirrors the amount of days in one year. The remedy for fear is God, and He wants to give us the cure every single day, 365 days a year.

However, it is easier said than done. Yes, even as a Christian! My question is though, how can the truth be so pure and good, so “freeing” as they say, and be accompanied with something else so terrible and crippling? Why are honesty and fear married? Why are they even in the same family? And can the truth exist without fear? Can the truth ever truly set us free? I know the answer is yes. It whole-heartedly is yes. But we will never separate the two without God.

There are specific moments in my life that have been such battles when deciding whether to be completely honest with myself, and with others. There are always about a million and one questions that follow the truth, which ultimately creates a million and one excuses to ignore it. What will happen to me? What will the other person say? What will EVERYONE say? What will they think? How will they feel? How will I feel? Will someone be hurt? Will I be hurt? I could go on. These questions are driven by that tractor trailer of fear. We worry about the change that might occur in our lives when being honest about certain topics or situations. We worry how our relationships with others will change. We worry what real honesty might to do to affect the outcome of our future. We just worry, plain and simple. If we all share one thing in common, it is that we are a worrisome species. And everyone has come to a point in their own lives where they have stood in the face of truth and had to look it straight in the eye. The truth about themselves, the truth about someone else in their lives, the truth about their career, and most importantly the truth about who God is.

When we arrive at this place, a place we will all revisit repeatedly in our lives, and we’re staring at the truth, let us all pray that we can meet Jesus there. Let us meet Jesus at the truth and walk with him through the fear. Let HIM carry the cross. And you want to know the best part about this? He told us to give it to him! His death on the cross represented not only saving us from the heavy burden of sin, but also a commitment to carry the burden of our sins as well as our fears and anxieties our entire lives! He endured so much pain, so we don’t have to. And he wants to continue enduring it for us! How insanely amazing is that? We have a God who WANTS to take on this fear for us! You’d think after dying on one, Jesus would be done with crosses. But not my God. To use modern day terms, Jesus is a professional. He’s a professional cross-bearer. In today’s world, we hire headhunters to find jobs. We hire people to find employees for our companies. We hire people to buy and sell our own houses for us. We put the burden of life on others so often, why not do the same with our own professional God! Jesus asks for the burden and he WANTS it. The ole saying is “leave it to the professionals”, right?

So, let us all pray together that in those moments of facing the truth, especially when we may not want to, that we can pass the fear and anxiety onto Jesus. Let Him drive that truck away and transform it into something beautiful for His glory. Let us see what God will do with our actual truths, because remember, the truth shall set us free. And Jesus is the truth.