The land we explored devours those living in it. — Numbers 13:32
Where do you get the truth?
A number of years ago, I wrote an article for a business magazine. One of my sources was an attorney who asked me repeatedly if I was planning to quote him out of context. By the time I was finished interviewing him, I was afraid to quote him at all. At the time, his concern seemed strange to me. Why would I quote anyone out of context? Why would I try to skew anybody’s words?
However, since then, I’ve discovered that he probably had good reasons for his concern. I’ve stopped trusting anything I read, hear or see in the news. It is far too easy to spin things, even when you don’t realize it.
If we believe a lie, everything we see is distorted. So even when we think we’re telling the truth, we are spreading lies.
This was the condition of most of those men who explored the land. They believed the lie that God was planning to abandon them to their enemies, so they were unable to see anything objectively. The richness and beauty of the land they explored was quickly obscured by their list of impossibilities.
The land, of course, didn’t devour anybody. But this fabrication sprang directly from their firmly-held false beliefs.
For most of my Christian life, I didn’t realize how foundationally important truth is. Here in this passage, a couple of well placed lies condemned over 600,000 men to death and stole 40 years of life from an entire nation.
Where do you get truth? Only from the One who is truth. Only He is objective. Joshua and Caleb viewed the same sights, but saw a different picture because they were looking through God’s eyes. Likewise, as we receive truth from Christ, our whole world is transformed.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
Dwight Clough is the author of four Christian books and is an active member of Lake City Church in Madison. This devotional is also available via email and you may review the archives back to 2002. To contact Dwight or Kim, use their contact form. You may also support their ministry.