Hands on steering wheel…eyes straight ahead…listening to the Spirit in the quietness of my car…I heard Him say: “Behind all distresses of the soul is a lie.” Talk about throwing me some ‘meat’ to chew on!

Immediately my mind recalled: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” [John 8:32] Obviously this was the counterpart of what He was revealing in the moment. Truth sets us free; lies bring distress.

Chewing on this ‘meat’ all week, I remembered countless times I could have uncovered the lie instead of being distressed! Better still, I could have sought out the unadulterated truth, instead of falling for the enemy’s seduction.

Someone once said that ‘truth always hits negative when it first comes.’ Considering this statement, I realize that truth daringly interrupts my passage that is going in the wrong direction and urges me to rethink what I’m doing. Truth believed and acted on will alter my course. Thus, the so-called ‘negative’ impact, which is actually for my benefit, re-routes my course.

Why then should I permit myself to be as breakable as the ruffled with ridges potato chip, wasting good time and lots of effort on that which does not even hold true? Therefore, I must search out truth and replace the lie.

Recalling the word of wisdom, I notice the word ‘behind.’ Hidden behind what is the obvious, hidden and disguised as an impostor, the lie is a trap set to bring me into distress. Distress is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as: “extreme anxiety, sorrow or pain.” I nearly skipped over the second meaning, which refers to distressed marks on furniture: “intended as marks of age and wear.” No thanks!