Roaring Truth in the Uncertainty

April 20, 2020 by Alet Swart 2 Comments

Most of us feel uncertain at the moment, roaring truth in the face of uncertainty, fatality, and economic disaster may not seem like enough.

Here’s the thing, Truth is the only constant.

Last year ended with a bang and it started with pretty much the same intensity. The effect of being busy or keeping busy at work means I haven’t published any blog posts in the last few months.

Today, I am sharing some thoughts while in the middle of the uncertainly that is Corona while sharing some of my inner thoughts relating to my word of the year.

My word(s) for 2020 is Roar Truth.

Even though I have been missing in action, I have selected a word for the year, something I have done since 2013. Every word, year after year, has been beautiful and applicable in every season.

This year has been no different! To the contrary, this year has me looking back, in awe at how fitting my word for the year is.

Background to Roaring Truth

To the end of last year, I listened to Jonathan and Melissa Helser’s podcast, when Melissa said something so profound, that I literally stopped everything I was doing, to allow the words to sink in.

She made a comment about how Jesus lived in complete dependence on the Father. She challenged the listener to go to the root of what we believe about God when we criticize ourselves.

At the time, I was playing with the word “Restore” as my word for the year. However, in that moment, I realised restoration will be the product of roaring truth in and over my life.

I remember even writing the word wrong in my journal, instead of writing roar truth, I wrote raw truth. Which at this very moment, makes it even more significant.

Unpacking the meaning behind the words

Roar

A roar according to the dictionary is a full, deep, prolonged cry uttered by a lion or other large wild animal.

– To roar is to do something. It’s a verb. It’s something we need to do.

Raw

The word raw is described in a couple of ways:

– Firstly, it is described as in a natural state, without having been through any chemical or industrial process.

– In art or writing, raw is seen as something that does not try to hide anything about its subject.

– Something that is sore or painful because of being rubbed or damaged.

We’ll get back to the meaning of Truth!

In January this year, during one of the church sermons, the elder made reference to the relationship Adam and Eve had with one another and with God. He referenced Genesis 2:25, which reads as follows:

And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed or embarrassed.

Genesis 2:25

Just to give context, God had made Adam. He settled Adam in the Garden of Eden and told him to cultivate and keep it. God then saw that Adam needed a helper and so He made Eve. This was before the fall of man, before sin, before they were kicked out of Eden.

Being naked and unashamed was a part of the relationship they had with one another and with God. There’s an openness, a dependency, that we need to grab a hold of!

Truth

I don’t need the dictionary to describe truth. For many years, I’ve lived by the reality that there are many versions of what we see or know to be true. I instinctively knew that there was a version of the truth and Truth. God’s truth. Christ.

Sadly, I was okay with a version of the truth. Let’s be honest though, a version of the truth is not Truth. Truth mixed with something else is no longer true. Which makes it a lie.

The aim for 2020 was going to be, to return to what the Word says.

John 8:32 says it beautifully, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. However, have you read the verse before this verse?

“If you abide in My word [continually obeying My teachings and living in accordance with them, then] you are truly My disciples.

Another well-known scripture reads as: I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (John 14:16)

Hang with me a moment longer, when Jesus says, no one comes to the Father but through me, He wasn’t referring to our salvation or going to heaven. He is talking about the relationship we have with Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Father right now, here on earth.

He is referring to a relationship with- and dependency on the Lord, the type of dependency that goes beyond, our own ability to look after ourselves and our kids.

Roaring Truth During the Covid-19 Distress

I guess what I’m trying to say, is that it is time to believe in the Truth. The Truth that exceeds our understanding and challenge what we believe about ourselves, about society and about what we have come to accept as the norm.

My goal this year, is to roar the raw truth in a naked and unashamed way.

Have you reflected on your word of the year while in lockdown? In what way has your word held truth, meaning and guidance in the last 21 odd days?