“For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.” Psalm 5:9
Devotion:
From the earliest age, telling the truth is something that gets instilled in us. And yet, children lie, they see others lie, and they learn the power of deception. Even from something as simple as April Fools’ Day, children learn the power of falsehood. Lives are shaped by truth and lies, and we all become very calculated about what information we reveal and which information we smudge.
This is what makes it so hard to live in a world swirling with lies. And this is where David found himself in Psalm 5. He had just pleaded with God to lead him forward in righteousness, and now we learn why—because the lies around him are pulling him away from God’s truth.
There are a few ways that this happens. When there is no truth in the world, we can be deceived about our identity, our present, and our future. And when we don’t know who we are or what God has prepared for us, we lose hope. And a hopeless life is not worth living.
Also, when there is no truth in the world, we lose our bearings. The destruction of lies pulls down our trust in leaders, institutions, and the structures that help us make sense of life. When we lose our bearings, we begin grabbing at anything to stabilize us, but what we find is more lies and deception. And when our lives are built on lies, we have no lasting significance.
Finally, when there is no truth in the world, life can become very frivolous. On the one hand, we can be flattered into thinking that everything is okay, that we are fundamentally good, and that God owes us something in this life. We lose sight of the deeper things of life which lead us towards the great things of God.
We must stay hungry for God’s truth, commit to spreading truth, and pray for the Spirit of God to lead us into all truth. Our world is swirling with lies, but that makes our dependence upon God that much more desperate. His truth is the anchor we need.
Prayer:
Father, we are constantly bombarded by lies. When we drift from You, we get caught in the raging storm of deception all around us. The strong voices in our ears knock us around in every different direction.
In Your mercy, Lord, would You guide us into Your truth? We long to be anchored to what will last. We long to be anchored to that which is truly solid.
Our ears are open and our hearts are ready, so please teach us. And when we drift from You, we ask that You would run after us. Don’t let us fall to the lies. Secure us in our identity in Christ and in our future, which is certain and bright. We want our thoughts, our emotions, and our actions to be filtered through Your word. Guide us, Father. In Jesus’ name, we worship and pray. Amen.
