“It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”
LEVITICUS 20-21
JOURNAL
“Some doubted.” That phrase captures something deeply human. Doubt is not a flaw in our design; it is the shadow side of intelligence. We can imagine alternatives, question narratives, and test what we are told. But doubt becomes destructive when it no longer seeks truth and instead avoids it.
Truth is hard because it exposes worlds we wish were different. It reveals things about ourselves we would rather keep hidden and dismantles the stories we build to survive. From the beginning, doubt has been used not to pursue truth, but to distort it. Humanity’s struggle has never been only with sin, but with honesty.
This is why the cross is both terrifying and beautiful. The cross works only if we are honest. It cannot be used to hide, manipulate, or clean up our image. It is not a curtain. It is a spotlight. Its purpose is to bring into the open what we keep in the dark. No wonder fear tempts me to withdraw. Hiding is one of our most practiced skills, and also our greatest weakness.
When we run from truth or withhold it from those we love, we do not protect ourselves. We lose joy. We thin our relationships. Life shrinks. The cross strips away every covering and calls us to stand exposed before God. And in that moment, when there is nothing left to manage or perform, God meets us with love. We are fully forgiven, but more than that, we are redeemed. Not because we fixed ourselves, but because we stopped hiding.
I know what doubt does to me. It freezes me. It convinces me that action will only cause harm, so inaction feels safer. It leads to procrastination, avoidance, and retreat. But Scripture and the quiet work of God’s Spirit remind me that truth, though hard, leads to freedom. The world may not be as I hoped, but God remains faithful and present.
Hiding has never been the answer. God does not call us to withdraw, but to move forward in truth. Faith is not passive belief; it is lived obedience. Action matters, even when outcomes are unseen or delayed.
If I do nothing, nothing changes.
Faith without action is hollow. Truth without movement is incomplete. The cross does not invite me to hide. It sends me forward, honest, exposed, and free.
“Some doubted.” That phrase captures something deeply human. Doubt is not a flaw in our design; it is the shadow side of intelligence. We can imagine alternatives, question narratives, and test what we are told. But doubt becomes destructive when it no longer seeks truth and instead avoids it.
Truth is hard because it exposes worlds we wish were different. It reveals things about ourselves we would rather keep hidden and dismantles the stories we build to survive. From the beginning, doubt has been used not to pursue truth, but to distort it. Humanity’s struggle has never been only with sin, but with honesty.
This is why the cross is both terrifying and beautiful. The cross works only if we are honest. It cannot be used to hide, manipulate, or clean up our image. It is not a curtain. It is a spotlight. Its purpose is to bring into the open what we keep in the dark. No wonder fear tempts me to withdraw. Hiding is one of our most practiced skills, and also our greatest weakness.
When we run from truth or withhold it from those we love, we do not protect ourselves. We lose joy. We thin our relationships. Life shrinks. The cross strips away every covering and calls us to stand exposed before God. And in that moment, when there is nothing left to manage or perform, God meets us with love. We are fully forgiven, but more than that, we are redeemed. Not because we fixed ourselves, but because we stopped hiding.
I know what doubt does to me. It freezes me. It convinces me that action will only cause harm, so inaction feels safer. It leads to procrastination, avoidance, and retreat. But Scripture and the quiet work of God’s Spirit remind me that truth, though hard, leads to freedom. The world may not be as I hoped, but God remains faithful and present.
Hiding has never been the answer. God does not call us to withdraw, but to move forward in truth. Faith is not passive belief; it is lived obedience. Action matters, even when outcomes are unseen or delayed.
If I do nothing, nothing changes.
Faith without action is hollow. Truth without movement is incomplete. The cross does not invite me to hide. It sends me forward, honest, exposed, and free.
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