Honesty is the First Policy

Text: John 4:15-22
Theme: Jesus looks for honesty when confronting our sin and leading us to wholeness.
Key verses: “‘Go and get your husband,’ Jesus told her. ‘I don’t have a husband,’ the woman replied. Jesus said, ‘You’re right! You don’t have a husband–for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!'” (v. 16-18).
What God said to me: Dwayne, I can see right through your facade into your heart. I know your every thought. You might as well be honest with me, for I already know the truth. When a person is honest with me and with themselves, then they can begin up a road to forgiveness and wholeness. What do you need to be honest with me about today? What do you need to confess and forsake? What truths in my Word do you need to meditate on as you die to yourself today and live for me alone?
What I said to God: This is short but poignant. Thank You Father for speaking straight to my need. I wonder the outcome had the woman at the well tried to lie to Jesus about her marital status. I wonder if He would have proceeded anyway to share with her about the Living Water that she needed. Would she have received that awesome truth and been open to change had she been bent on deception and cover-up? I remember what David said, “You desire truth in the inward parts.” That is in Psalm 51, in context of David’s confession to his sin and your consequent forgiveness of him. Lord, I know that is what you desire of me as well: truth and honesty about my heart’s condition and about my actions and thoughts. Only when I “come clean” with You can You begin to free me and change me from the inside out. Thank You for Your mercy and truth!!