“Use the truth to make them holy. Your words are truth.” John 17:17 (GW)

If you want to change any area of your life, you need to know and apply what God says is the truth about that specific area.

If you want to change your finances, you’ve got to know what God has said about finances and apply that truth to your life. If you want to change your marriage, you’ve got to know what God has said about marriage and apply that truth to your life.

How do you know the truth? Jesus prayed in John 17:17, “Use the truth to make them holy. Your words are truth” (GW).

The theological term for being made holy is “sanctification.” Sanctification means to grow up, to be transformed, to become the way God wants you to be. You are sanctified—or grow up—by knowing and obeying God’s Word.

Ephesians 4:15 says in the Living Bible paraphrase, “We will lovingly follow the truth at all times—speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly—and so become more and more in every way like Christ.”

You’ve got to know the truth if your life is going to be transformed. Why? Because every self-defeating behavior is based on a lie you’re believing. If you want to change your life, you’ve got to identify the lie and say, “That’s just not true.” Then you change the way you think.

Maybe you believe a lie about your past or even your future, and it’s shaping the way you look at your life. It’s so much harder to grow spiritually when you don’t know and believe what God says is true about your past, your present, and your future.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT).

The Bible shows us the path to walk on. It shows us when we get off the path. It shows us how to get back on the path. And it shows us how to stay on the path. We cannot know which way to go without the truth of God’s Word. It’s the only way to know what is right and true.

Transformation comes through truth. The more you get into God’s Word, the more it’s going to change the way you think. Once it changes the way you think, then it can change your life.