By Yvette Garcia
Purity + Peace leader
Growing up, I was an extremely private person.
I was embarrassed by the truth, so I didn’t talk about it. I lived in an environment that didn’t embrace the truth, so things weren’t discussed but rather ignored or argued about. This led to years of misunderstanding my own emotions and responding in anger, especially as a teenager.
Now, in my adult years, I can appreciate the importance of telling and receiving the truth even when it’s difficult.
THE HARSH TRUTH
I remember being a young Christian and having a discussion with my pastor where he shared some truths with me about myself. I was upset and thought:
“I’m never going to talk to him or go to church again!”
As the days passed, however, I was able to thank him for the truth rather than reject it, as I once did. It was that truth that opened my eyes and helped me mature. While it hurt, it was necessary.
AN UNEXPECTED SEASON
Let's fast forward to several years later: I was 26 years old, divorced, and I felt alone and damaged. While everyone around me was married or in a relationship, I was single and broken; something you don’t expect after getting married. I was in a very different season during that period of my life and sometimes being in a different season can make you feel as if something is wrong with you. There was so much truth I held inside as I tried my best to walk around with a smile on my face.
During this time, God lead me to a women's Bible study called Purity + Peace. It was there that I experienced a place where I could open up and speak about things I had never spoken about openly before. The beautiful yet ugly truth was available to be released and embraced.
A BEAUTIFUL PURPOSE
It was during this season I realized what God created me to do; provide a space and facilitate a conversation where truth could be heard, prayed over and women could be healed. In a room full of women I barely knew, I realized I wasn’t alone in any of my struggles. I was created to help women realize that they too weren't alone, and to help them find their truth. It was time to teach women, who live in a society that only shows them how to be divided, how to be united.
JESUS TOLD THE TRUTH
Pain and loneliness has the ability to mold us into being more like Jesus; a teller of truth. Throughout the Bible, it’s what Jesus does. He calls out the Pharisees multiple times, which wasn’t the socially acceptable thing to do, and He sets the captive free by simply speaking truth.
In the book of John, Jesus speaks to a woman at a well (John 4). Jesus was a Jew and the woman was a Samaritan. Based on the political and religious climate of the time, these two shouldn’t have been speaking to each other. During this encounter, Jesus tells her to get her husband, and she responds to him by saying
“I don’t have a husband.”
Jesus said: “You’re right! You don’t have a husband. You have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth.”
Ouch! Imagine a random stranger calling you out that way?
After this encounter, the Samaritan woman runs off and tells her village about her encounter with this prophet, and it leads to many others finding the truth, healing, and freedom in Christ.
TELL THE TRUTH, IN LOVE
Telling the truth in love, at the right time and with the right intentions can set the captive free. It can provide healing for the multitudes.
Today, I encourage you to ask God if there are any truths you need to embrace or express. Then ask Him when and how to speak those truths or accept them, and He will show you.
Sign up for a Purity + Peace session here.
