How To Hold On To Truth When The Facts Say Otherwise

Recently, inside of our Kingdom Seekers mentoring community, we have been having an ongoing conversation about truth, lies, and how the lies we believe can influence our thoughts, emotions, and responses.

We even turned it into a simple daily practice: identify one lie each day. The purpose was not to become paranoid or afraid of deception, but to become more vigilant about what may be hiding beneath the surface, keeping us from experiencing Kingdom Life to the fullest.

As members began paying closer attention, important things started coming to light.

One member realized that trusting in the Lord had unintentionally become a reason to be less vigilant about the lies of the enemy.

Once that religious blind spot was exposed, an unresolved relationship issue surfaced. Instead of pushing the lie away, the invitation was to ask more questions, dig deeper, and allow it to reveal the fear or belief that still needed freedom.

Another member recognized a different struggle. She knew she was a citizen of the Kingdom and not of this world, but she wondered whether acknowledging a medical diagnosis meant she was failing to believe what God says about healing...and, if this was a lack of faith?

That conversation revealed an important distinction that every mature believer with wisdom needs to understand...

What is the difference between what is true and what is THE truth?

What is true relates to facts.

For example, a doctor may examine tests, results, and scans and give a diagnosis that is factually correct. Someone may factually have diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure…

In the Kingdom, none of these facts need to be ignored.

Denying reality is not faith. Denying reality is delusion; it is fantasy, and it most often ends in a very bad way.

Here’s the truth…

Real faith acknowledges the facts while remaining completely convinced of God’s truth.

The facts may indicate sickness or disease, but the truth remains, “By His stripes I am healed.”

Someone may be factually broke and yet they still possess the power to create wealth and they can still be blessed to be a blessing. That is THE truth.

“The truth is always higher than what is true because facts can change, but the truth never changes.” - Pedro Adao

Facts are temporary.

So, acknowledging what is true does not take away complete conviction in the truth.

In other words, acknowledging that there is some form of sickness in your body may be a fact, but it doesn’t take away the truth that Jesus died for your healing, and it is your birthright as a son or daughter of God to walk in divine health.

Real faith actually requires that we hold that tension when the current facts do not agree with the truth. That is how faith is proven.

It takes zero faith to believe you are healthy when you are actually healthy. That requires only accepting your current reality.

Speaking to things as they presently are is not an act of faith, however, speaking to things as if they were, when they are not yet…that requires faith.

In Romans, the Bible talks about this kind of faith. Abraham had a promise that he would be the father of many nations, but the facts were...he was old and, Sarah, his wife, was also old and barren.

“Abraham…in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’” Romans 4:16-18

Abraham believed God despite the factual evidence that was “true” and because he chose to believe "the truth" of God’s promises instead of what was true about his circumstance…it was counted to him as righteousness.

To be clear, Abraham didn’t deny the facts and pretend they weren’t there, he chose to acknowledge them as true, while still choosing to believe THE truth of what God said about the situation.

This distinction between what is true and what is truth brings the importance of this back into focus.

Our temporary factual experience does not change the truth, but it does reveal the need to remain vigilant about how we respond to it.

You are not your facts, and your future truth is not limited by your current circumstance.

Abraham’s truth was that he would be the father of many nations.

His current facts were he had no sons, he was old, his wife was way past the age of childbearing. The facts looked very bad.

There may have been times when reality hit and he may have felt more connected to what was true than he did to what the actual Kingdom truth.

So, he had to be aware and vigilant to believe God’s words and promises to him above what he saw in the natural.

We can learn from this…

The difference in what we believe and how we respond is in whether we choose to stay connected and grounded to the facts...

Or, choose instead to exercise faith in the face of facts by acknowledging the reality of what is true now while still holding onto and believing for the truth available to us (what God says).

Guard Against The Ditches

So the practical question becomes...

How can we be relentlessly vigilant about resisting the temptations of the two ditches—allowing present facts to determine what we believe, or denying the facts and calling that denial faith?

Here are some practical steps for doing this right now.

Bring one current fact, circumstance, thought, or emotion before God.

Identify what is factually true without ignoring or denying it. Then identify the truth that remains higher (even though the present facts may not presently agree with that truth).

If a lie surfaces, do not push it away or shove it down. Instead, ask:

• What is this about?
• What is being held onto?
• Why is it difficult to let go?
• What is really going on here?
• Is there a root fear beneath this response?

Ask more questions. Dig deeper. The lies you are believing can become the vehicle that guides you toward freedom.

If that process happens 100 times today, praise God. Tomorrow it may happen only 90 times. The next day, perhaps 83. Then 74.

That is what becoming more vigilant can look like.

Spiritual maturity is not pretending to have transcended every temptation or struggle. It is recognizing when something temporarily true has been given the authority that belongs only to what is actually THE truth…

What fact, diagnosis, fear, feeling, or present circumstance has been allowed to become the final authority over what you believe?

How can you separate what is factually true from THE truth of the Kingdom?

Inside Kingdom Seekers, conversations like this happen regularly as members learn to identify lies, become more vigilant, and pursue the freedom found in Kingdom truth. If this kind of Kingdom-centered mentoring is what you have been looking for, consider joining the Kingdom Seekers community.