Psalm 24:3-4 says, “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false”.

Faith in God’s presence reveals two key things.

First, it reveals what is true. What is true is Jesus Christ—His character, Word, work, promises, sovereignty, faithfulness, and love. We see by faith that He is worthy of our trust, because He is worthy of His name. We see that He can handle “the weight” of our heart and the circumstances of our lives. We see that He alone has the power to save and to forgive and to make all things new.

But second—and this is something we either forget or don’t realize—faith reveals what is false. The Psalmist is saying that to dwell in God’s presence we must not lift up our “soul to what is false”. In other words, we cannot put our trust in what is empty. In what is not worthy of our heart, because what is false cannot handle the full weight of our trust and faith. It will always, in the end, give out.

Dear Elim Grace: if we want the Holy Spirit’s power in our lives, we must also ask to see what is false within us. What are those things we are putting our faith in that are not true? Identifying these things is not always easy. Some long-standing and deep-rooted commitments of the heart have made their home in us. We need the Truth to set us free.

I have no doubt God is moving in our midst. Yet there often comes an impasse of grace in the work of God growing a big people in Christ. He will go no further until He reveals both what is true and what is false. For what is false cannot abide in the presence of God.  So let’s ask the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and see if there’s any “false” way in us.