It’s your move. What will you do?

#3 Tip for LIFE: Live Truth

L.I.F.E.: Living Intentionally and Focusing Eternally

Her words echoed in my head as I tried to hold back my tears.

She didn’t know I had overheard her speaking disparagingly about me.

How could someone be so hurtful? What should I do with this blatant attack on my character? Lord, how am I supposed to face her again?

I brought my hurt before the Lord, asking Him to guide my next steps. My flesh wanted to fight back—to confront her in anger, pointing out her shortcomings and my subsequent heartache.

But the Lord had a different plan.

He led me to Matthew 5:44:

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Reluctantly, I obeyed.

Whenever my heart ached because of her words, I chose to pray for her. I asked God to bless her, draw her closer to Him, and help me see her through His eyes.

Little by little, something changed.

My prayers didn’t change her—they changed me.

Instead of anger, my heart held compassion. Replacing revenge, peace guided my response. And the next time I saw her, I was able to genuinely smile and say, “Good morning.”

We don’t have to be friends. We don’t even have to like someone to love them. Love is a choice of obedience, not emotion. As God’s children, we are called to respond according to His truth rather than our feelings.

That’s what it means to Live Truth.

At LIFEstory, we believe it’s not enough to simply Know Truth or even Choose Truth. Living God’s Truth is where our knowledge and our choices become action. It’s where our faith becomes visible. All three pillars are essential to living intentionally and focusing eternally.

James says it this way:

Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. (James 1:22-25)

Knowing God’s Word matters.

Choosing to believe it matters.

But transformation happens when we live it.

Next week, we’ll share the fourth and final pillar of LIFEstory. Until then, don’t just know His Word—live it.

YOUR TURN: Claiming L.I.F.E. in your story means Living Truth

• Can you think of a time when your flesh wanted to do something that you knew contradicted God’s will? 

• Is there an action you need to take to start living in alignment with God’s Truth? 

When you’re tempted to follow your flesh instead of what you know to be true, try this strategy. Envision a stoplight from top to bottom. 

🔴 Red: Stop. Pause before saying or doing something you’ll regret. 

🟡 Yellow: Slow down. Take the situation to God in prayer and search His Word. Ask, “Lord, what response would honor You?”

🟢 Green: Move forward in obedience—not according to your feelings, but according to God’s truth.