True or Not True?

In the third book of the Hunger Games trilogy, one of Katniss’s friends (I won’t say who in case you haven’t gotten to Book 3 yet) is held prisoner by the evil Capitol. He returns a completely different person who has been so tortured mentally that he no longer trusts Katniss. In fact, thanks to the Capitol’s cruel mind games, he is convinced that she is his enemy. The method that finally brings him back to reality is an ongoing routine of “True or not true.” He has a memory, good or bad, and asks her if it really happened.

“You (fill in the good memory). True or not true?”

“True.”

“You (fill in the bad memory)? True or not true?”

“Not true.”

Even while hearing that some of his worst nightmares are false, he must learn to trust Katniss again. Is she playing games with him like the Capitol did? Learning to recognize the truth from the lies in his head forces him to consider the source and choose to trust a friend who has so clearly earned it. 

Recently, the “True or not true” topic came to mind while discussing fears with some friends at church. One friend wanted to teach her kids to play this game when they got scared.

“There’s a monster under my bed. True or not true? Really?”

“God is with me, even in the dark. True or not true?”

I realized that I needed to start playing “True or not true” in some areas myself.

“I can’t expect God to keep providing for me. True or not true?”

“Life will always be this hard; I might as well accept it. True or not true.”

“Just because I can’t see what’s next, doesn’t mean God isn’t working. True or not true.”

I admit that it’s often difficult to sort the truth from the mind games that the enemy plays with me, and even the games I play with myself. But I’m learning to trust what I know about God. He has definitely earned my trust.

What about you? Do you feel like your mind is full of so many confusing messages that you can’t decide which is true and which isn’t? Do you need to start a regular “True or not true” routine? How do you know when a thought is from God?