We are living in the midst of an incredible irony. Never before in human history have we had more access to more information. In seconds, we can find a treasure trove of information about any subject imaginable. It’s all there, all available, all free. And yet at the same time, never have we been less sure about who and what information to actually believe.

In a way, it seems like we are living in a house of mirrors at a carnival. You look around and everything has the look of reality, and yet when you get up close to it, you find that very few things are the actual, real thing and most everything else is in reality just a reflection of what is real.

Do you sense it, too?

Do you often wonder what organization to really believe? What statistics are actual? Who is telling the whole truth? Which post and which stream is truly unbiased? I certainly do. We are, it seems, not suffering from lack of information; we are suffering from lack of clarity.

Not so with the Bible though. The Bible will tell us the truth. And while we might claim, in light of our current cultural circumstances, that we are hungry for that pure, unadulterated truth, the truth is nevertheless difficult to hear. And even more difficult to accept and believe. Yet the Bible pays little mind to the difficulty we have with the truth. Through the Spirit of God, the Word of God still speaks even when what it has to say is not particularly palatable. Here, then, are three broad occasions when the Bible tells you the truth even if the real truth isn’t what you want:

1. The truth about God.

The Bible is primarily a book about God. Not about us. Not about the world. Not about science or nature or anything else. Of course, the Bible also speaks to those other things, but all those other things are seen in light of the truth about God. You might argue that of course we want to know the truth about God. That knowing the truth about God is really the only thing we really do want to know.

But do we really? I wonder.

We often don’t want the truth about God; rather, we seem to want a version of God that simply agrees with us – a cosmic “yes-man” who agrees with our opinions, hates our enemies, and affirms our goals. But God does not stoop to that level, and the Bible is truthful about it. Take, for example, the encounter Joshua had with God’s angel the night before the battle of Jericho:

When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

“Neither,” he replied. “I have now come as commander of the Lord’s army” (Josh. 5:13-14).

We must be careful, then, when we come to the Bible, for we must come to know the one, true God – not seeking affirmation of the God of our opinions.

2. The truth about your problem.

The Bible has a way of simplifying things. But that simplicity, in its truthfulness, is not always easy to accept. We often come to the Bible seeking wisdom about a problem we have – a problem with our relationships, with our culture, with our job, with our finances – and we don’t find the answer we are looking for.

Instead, we find the answer to our true problem, for the problem we think we have is only a symptom of what’s really the matter. It is a perceived problem with someone or something outside of us. But the Bible tells us the truth that more often than not, the true issue is within us. In our hearts. With our own greed or self-preoccupation or insecurity. As the book of Hebrews reminds us:

For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. No creature is hidden from him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account (Heb. 4:12-13).

We come to the Bible intending to read it, and we find that instead the Bible is reading us. And in so doing, the Bible tells us the truth about our perceived problems.

3. The truth about ourselves.

Similarly, the Bible also tells us the truth about ourselves. And this fact is as necessary as it is uncomfortable, for if we accept that the Bible tells us the truth about ourselves then we must also accept the fact that we do not know ourselves – our motives, our desires, our true nature – nearly as well as we think we do.

We can convince ourselves of the goodness, the wisdom, or the rightness of almost anything. But we must trust the Word of God much more than we trust ourselves, even if it means facing the uncomfortable truth. For the Bible works like a pane of glass, and it does so in two ways. A pane of glass can be a window, and the Bible works like that, too. For through the window of Scripture we see the character and nature of God. But a pane of glass can also be a mirror. So also does the Bible reflect back to us our own hearts.

When David has convinced himself of the secrecy of his sin, the justification for having committed it, and the security of his plans, the Word of God came through the prophet to reflect the truth:

“You are the man!” (2 Sam. 12:7).

The Lord will not be fooled. And if we come to the Bible honestly, neither will He allow us to fool ourselves.

The truth is a good thing. It is a holy thing. Though it might be an uncomfortable thing. But it is only through the truth, received with an open heart to God’s Word, that we can know God, know our true problems, and know ourselves.