Facing the truth about ourselves

Last week, we studied "facing our past." We saw that our conscience, a very valuable part of us, can guide us or be ignored. Then, if we ignore it long enough, it may take some work by the Spirit of God to awaken it!

Once it is awakened, as in the case of Joseph's brothers, it may be necessary to really look at ourselves, and that may be painful.........

It's a trait that most human beings share: we have a problem sometimes, looking at ourselves honestly. Telling the truth about ourselves is pretty difficult sometimes.  Many of us will do whatever we can, to keep from facing the truth. We'd rather play games than look at ourselves the way in which our Father God looks at us. We'll pretend; we'll make things sound more palatable; we will hold on to our anger, our self-importance, our self-will. It's never, ever, easy to look honestly at our failures -- having had some epic fails, I know this is true.

God is Truth. He does not lie, and in fact, no liar can stay in His presence.

 . . . and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. (Revelation 21:8b)

The hardest truth we will ever face is to look in the mirror and be honest about ourselves. It takes courage. That is what the brothers will learn in this week's chapters.
It's said that today eighteen percent of the population is undergoing therapy at any given time. Many of them meet each week and pour out their hearts and their pain to trusted counselors.  Articles and blogs discuss the need for complete honesty about oneself, in order to achieve the best and most positive outcomes. It's hard. It's painful. But it is so necessary.
Being honest about ourselves means being ready to accept and talk about our failures. At first, that can be excruciatingly painful. It's also scary! To say that it can be difficult is an understatement.
But it's the people who swallow their fear, hold on to the support from a loved one, endure the pain, and walk that hard road of truth -- it's those people who get better. The hardest part is deciding to be honest with ourselves; the rest of the road will be a lot less bumpy.

Some counselors are Christians, and some of them will encourage their clients with this verse:

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

I read a sermon where someone had added a phrase: "but it will hurt, first." Perhaps this is why some people aren't able to get better.... perhaps they are unwilling or frightened about how the truth will hurt.  It can be easier to avoid the truth because it may be too painful to bear.
It's not like we have a shortage of truth. We have books of encouragement, coping strategies, comfort, and more, from believer-authors and nonbelievers, too. We can go to seminars; we can listen to podcasts; more importantly, we can search God's Word. But our fear may make us put up barriers in our hearts and souls, to deflect the truth and send it packing. We may react angrily to those who seek to gently help us.
Perhaps that is why we are angry. Stubborn. Bitter. Greedy. Depressed. Self-harming. In the midst of all the pain of living in this world, if we can accept the pain of looking at ourselves honestly, the truth can indeed set us free. (Seriously, there have been some major blunders in my own life that have caused lingering effects.... looking at them honestly and admitting my mistakes has been so painful, but it's the only way I've been able to deal with all of it, ask people for forgiveness, and daily ask the Spirit to help me go on.)

So here is the scene when we left Joseph and his brothers -- they had all gathered at Joseph's house at the grand banquet hall. It was the first time in twenty years that all twelve of them had been together. The Bible tells us that they were celebrating and making merry; they'd had some drinks and were relaxed with their host......
But they still had no clue who he was.
Joseph is standing before them, and behind Joseph is the God Who has orchestrated it all to bring them to this moment. The truth is about to set them free -- but it's going to hurt, first.

For this week's study, please join me in re-reading the 44th and 45th chapters of Genesis.