American author William Faulkner said, “Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world would do this, it would change the earth.” Truth matters especially in an era of not always knowing realty. We are living in a time when it is more difficult to distinguish what is real and what is fake.
Honesty and truth-telling matter. German novelist Franz Kafka said, “Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.” The fact is, try as you may, you will never fulfill a dream that is not based on the truth. Stop and think about your personal history. How have your plans, goals, and desires been influenced by being truthful to yourself? How has your truthful awareness influenced others? Is it possible that your thoughts are the result of how you were raised as a child or who others thought you were or who you wish you were? Are your words and actions the results of who you really are and what God meant you to be?
Know that you can live the life for which God created you and not become someone else’s opinion about you. When a dream is right for you and you are right for a dream, the two cannot be separated from each other. As you assess what God intended for you in your life remember what the Prophet Isaiah said: “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
Life is about trusting in the things that you know are truthful and leaving the rest to God to direct you in your endeavors. A person who is repeatedly told that they are bad, lazy, no good, stupid or other demeaning name will tend to act out the picture others planted in their mind. Allow God, and God alone, to tell you who you are and what you should do. Get his opinion, for in the end, his opinion is the only one that counts! So, Never Give Up! Never Give Up! Never Give Up!
By Chaplain Ghosten
chaplain@lhp.net
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