The Spirit of Truth

 "Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth." Psalm 31:5 (KJV)

Only Believe! Those words can’t be bad after all didn’t Jesus speak them to the ruler of the Synagogue when he received word that his daughter had died. Jairus was standing before Jesus asking for a miracle when suddenly the world came crashing down around him. He was part of the established religion. He lived and worked in the influential world of the Pharisees and Sadducees where Jesus was not welcomed. He was risking everything to come to Jesus and ask Him to his house. His daughter, the love of his life, was sick and needed a miracle. He had seen the women with the issue of blood healed, he had watched the Gadarene with the demons be delivered, surely this man could heal his daughter. He too had pressed his way through the crowd not caring what people thought about him. He needed a miracle!

Then it happened! His servant tugged on his robe and said,

“Come on don’t bother the Master, your daughter is dead.”

The thoughts came rushing over him in waves of despair. His heart fell from his chest and darkness began to fill his mind. The world was spinning in a kaleidoscope of empty images. Dead! He was too late! Hope was crushed on the rocks of despair.

Then he heard the words of Jesus. Like a light piercing the darkness of His mind.

“Do not be afraid, only believe”

The voice startled him! It was not loud or boisterous. Yet, the coldness of despair gave way to the warmth of truth. He could feel his heart beat, hear the breath fill his lungs, and everything stopped spinning. His eyes opened as if for the first time and he saw Jesus looking at him. There was something about His eyes that seemed to look right through the confusion. Hope began to sing once again.

At the house people laughed and ridiculed Jesus for saying that his daughter was only sleeping. She was dead! Everyone knew it! The doctors had pronounced it! Still there was something about His voice. When Jesus spoke those words, even though everyone else laughed, he found a peace in them that seemed to defy understanding. Against all reasoning he believed!

He was standing there when Jesus took the cold hand of her lifeless body and spoke,

“Talitha cumi” which means “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”

Let me tell you, when Jesus speaks peace there is peace. When He speaks life there is life. What He says will come to pass and there is no shadow of turning in His voice. Just ask Jarius.

There is an old song that we sang often when I was growing up. Written in 1886 by Kelso Carter

Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.

There are more verses and each one makes me want to stand up and give God all my praise! You see in this day and age there are many who have put their faith in the gods of this world. They preach faith but they fail to ground their faith in Truth! A.W. Tozer said it this way,

"I do not recall another period when ‘faith’ was as popular as it is today. ‘If only we believe hard enough, we'll make it somehow.’ So goes the popular chant. What you believe is not important. Only believe. ... What is overlooked in all this is that faith is good only when it engages truth; when it is made to rest upon falsehood, it can and often does lead to eternal tragedy. For it is not enough that we believe; we must believe the right thing about the right One."

That was written a generation ago but it can be applied to our generation just as well. Unless our faith is grounded in the Truth of Jesus Christ and His Gospel we are travelling a road that cannot end well. Faith in God must stand upon His Word and be centered in Christ alone. Jesus told us in John 15:26,

“When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.”

There is only one Truth! God! The Holy Spirit is that Spirit of Truth that comes from the Father and He speaks only of the Son! Jesus! When we “only believe” let’s make sure that we place all of our hope, our trust, our faith, in Him.