Silent Truths

Mistrust is a Prison

“But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.” — 1 John 2:11

For too long, I built walls instead of bridges. I told myself it was protection—that locking my heart away would shield me from pain. But the truth? I wasn’t safe. I was trapped.

Suspicion, anger, and mistrust weren’t weapons; they were chains. They didn’t keep the enemy out; they kept me locked in.

I thought I was seeing clearly, that I could discern who was false, who would betray me, who was waiting to take advantage of my kindness. But in reality, I was walking in blindness—stumbling in a darkness of my own making.

Now, I see it. Fear and bitterness are liars. They whisper:
🔸 No one is trustworthy.
🔸 Love is weakness.
🔸 The only way to survive is to guard your heart behind iron gates.

But those gates? They were never a shield. They were a tomb.

Suspicion Pulls You Deeper

“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” — Proverbs 16:25

Mistrust felt right. It felt like wisdom.

After all, hadn’t I been hurt enough?
Hadn’t I seen the worst in people?
Hadn’t I learned that opening up only led to being torn apart?

But the more I embraced that thinking, the deeper I sank. It was a well with no bottom, a pit that swallowed joy, peace, and even hope itself.

The more I judged, the more I isolated.
The more I doubted, the more I became blind to goodness.

Now, I see the truth—this mindset leads only to death.
Not physical death, but something even worse:
🔸 Love dies in suspicion.
🔸 Compassion dies in bitterness.
🔸 Joy dies in isolation.
🔸 And worst of all, my ability to see God’s hand at work in others dies when I assume the worst in them.

I thought I was saving myself. But I was only burying myself alive.

The Fear of Others

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” — 2 Timothy 1:7

The enemy wants me to live in fear.

He whispers that people are out to get me, that trusting others is foolish, that love is a trap.
He wants me to believe that by locking my heart away, I am strong.

But I see the truth now—fear is not from God.
It is not a gift. It is a thief.

🔸 It steals power.
🔸 It robs love.
🔸 It destroys peace of mind.

God calls me to live in love, not fear.
To walk in wisdom, not paranoia.
To trust in His protection, not my own defenses.

I will no longer live under the shadow of what others might do.
I will no longer let past betrayals dictate future relationships.
I refuse to see the world through the cracked lens of my pain.

Battles Others Are Fighting

“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” — Matthew 7:1-2

I assumed I knew people.
I assumed I understood their intentions, their hearts, their motives.
I labeled them before I truly saw them.

But now I understand—I don’t know what they’re going through.

🔸 I don’t know the weight they carry.
🔸 I don’t know what it took for them to get out of bed this morning.
🔸 I don’t know what wounds they hide behind their smiles.

And if I don’t want to be judged unfairly, why should I be so quick to judge them?

How many times have I longed for someone to see my pain?
To understand why I am the way I am?
To show mercy instead of condemnation?

I see now that love is not assuming the worst in others.
Love is giving grace.
Love is seeing beyond the surface.
Love is choosing to believe that people are more than their flaws…
just as I hope to be seen beyond mine.

Passion and Purpose

“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” — John 10:10

I refuse to let fear be my master.
I refuse to waste my life looking over my shoulder, expecting betrayal at every turn.

That is not living—that is surviving.

But Christ came to give life. Not just existence. Not just breathing. Abundant life.
A life filled with joy, love, purpose, and passion.

And if I spend my days in suspicion, paranoia, and mistrust, then I am rejecting the very life I was meant to live.

I have one chance to embrace this life.
One chance to love.
One chance to experience the beauty of creation.
One chance to make the most of it.

So, I will reach out.
I will love boldly.
I will forgive freely.
I will trust wisely.

And I will live—truly live—because this is the life God has given me.

I refuse to waste it in the shadows of fear.

The Chains Are Broken

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” — John 8:32

I see now. I know now.

Not just in thought, not just in passing revelation, but in the depths of my soul, where truth burns like fire—refining, purging, and making all things new.

Mistrust was never my friend—it was a thief.
Stealing the warmth of connection.
Robbing the joy of belonging.
Killing the possibility of love before it could even take root.

Bitterness was never my protector—it was a poison.
Dripping slowly.
Dulling my senses.
Convincing me that my armor was necessary, when in reality, it was rusted and suffocating the very life within me.

Fear was never my guide—it was a liar.
Whispering of threats that were only shadows.
Keeping me locked in a cage of “what ifs,”
Distracting me from the boundless possibilities of “what could be.”

But now…

The truth has shattered those chains.
The truth has stepped in, undeniable and unrelenting,
Like the first rays of dawn breaking through an endless night.

The truth has set me free.

I will not walk in darkness anymore—
Not in the shadows of my own suspicions.
Not in the suffocating weight of my past.

The well of pain that once seemed bottomless,
That once pulled me further down with every bitter thought,
Has no hold on me now.

I see it for what it is—a hollow abyss that I no longer belong to.

Instead, I rise.

I rise into light.
I rise into love.
I rise into the brilliant, unshackled beauty of this life I have been given.

I will embrace life fully, with open hands and a fearless heart.
I will not shrink back.
I will not second-guess every kindness.
I will not assume the worst and call it wisdom.

I will live boldly—
Not cowering in the fear of being hurt again,
But standing tall in the certainty that love—real love—is worth the risk.

I will move forward—free.

Free to trust.
Free to forgive.
Free to see others with eyes of grace instead of suspicion.
Free to embrace the beauty of life rather than the shadow of fear.

I will not waste another breath bound to the ghosts of the past.
I will stand in the light.

And this time…

I will never look back.

Source Appendix

Scriptural References

1 John 2:11
“But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.”

Proverbs 16:25
“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

2 Timothy 1:7
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Matthew 7:1-2
“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”

John 10:10
“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

John 8:32
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

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