Come to Him in Truth
This morning, I want to briefly reflect on a verse from Psalm 145. Psalm 145:18 says this:
“The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”
I want us to consider for a moment, what it means to come to God in truth. There are 2 senses in which we need to come to God in truth.
The first is must recognize the truth about God. We must know who He is. We must know what He is like and understand who we are talking to. Earlier in Psalm 145, and all over the Bible, we get descriptions about who the LORD is. Who is the God who is near to those who call on Him? (Here are just a few from part of Psalm 145)
The Lord is great and worthy of praise
The Lord does wonderous works
His kingdom is everlasting, and His dominion endures through all generations
The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love
The LORD’s mercy is over all that he has made
This knowledge of God, that He has revealed to us, is reality. This is what is true about God, and it invites us in, because the truth about God is that He is good, that He knows us, that He cares for us, and that He has mercy on us.
We don’t approach him as a genie to grant us wishes, nor do we come to trade or bargain with him. We must approach Him in the truth of who He is.
But second, what it means to come to him in truth, is to come to Him truthfully. To come in the reality of ourselves and to be honest about ourselves. We must come to Him as He is, but also come to Him as we are. To come in truth, or truthfully, means to end all posturing and pretending. No “best foot forward” mentality.
It is impossible to be rescued if you aren’t honest about where you are. Take for instance, you are lost in the grand canyon and an angry parent calls. You are terrified to be honest. You mighty say: “I’m fine, on a little detour, I’ll be back soon, I’ll find a way out. I think I know where I am now.” But what if a rescue team calls: “I’m scared, I fell, I‘m hurt, I’m down is this valley and cannot get out on my own. I’m worried I might never be found.” Which one of those resonates with how you pray?
God is more like the rescue team. Or, God is a loving father, not an angry one. How you view God makes all the difference for if you will come to him honestly or not. And honesty makes all the difference if you are going to be helped and rescued, or not.
The Lord’s ear is near us, and what it is tuned to, is honesty. That is the key to opening the door into his presences, it’s coming to him truthfully about ourselves. His focus is dialed in, and he is attentive and ready, His heart is quickened towards us by the faintest call to Him in honesty. Pretense is rejected, but truthfulness is welcomed in.
A right understanding of God, will lead us to want to be honest with him. We can be honest with him, because he has told us he will hear it, and he will help. So come to this morning in confession, and Come to Him in truth.