Fact versus Truth: A Journey Beyond What We See

What if the facts weren’t the whole story?

Not long ago, I heard a definition of “fact” that made me pause: a fact is something most people agree is true or that can be proven to have actually happened. Helpful in some ways—but it made me stop and ask, is that the same as Truth?

This definition was offered as a tool for healing—encouraging us to release emotional weight by separating facts from the painful stories we often tell ourselves. But as I sat with it, I sensed something slippery. A whisper of deception. Like a snake trying to slither away unnoticed—something that, if not grabbed, could subtly keep us bound to limitation.

Because facts are built on consensus. Truth doesn’t need consensus.

I thought about my own story—specifically, the day I should have died. A drowning that made no sense to survive. And yet, I did. I walked away from the river.

The facts would say I shouldn’t be here. That kind of survival didn’t fit into a neat, explainable category. It didn’t make sense. So, for a long time, I kept it hidden. I told no one. I just wanted to make it back to my dad.

According to that definition, my survival wasn’t a fact. And yet, it is my truth.

For years, I wondered if I was even truly alive. Was I in a coma? A dream? Was I still on life support somewhere, and this life was just my imagination? Those thoughts haunted me until I could anchor into something deeper: the Truth that doesn’t rely on what others see or believe.

The Pharisees missed it too. They were obsessed with facts—law, order, tradition—and yet they missed Truth embodied right in front of them. Jesus was the Truth, and they couldn’t see Him.

Facts help us build systems. But Truth builds freedom.

Jesus said the Kingdom of God is revealed to little children—those who trust, those who believe without needing to explain everything. The wisest scholars, the most fact-driven minds, often miss what the heart already knows: there is more. More than logic. More than statistics. More than consensus reality.

God is not confined to the limitations of what has already happened. He calls us to live in Truth—alive, miraculous, abundant. The same power that pulled me out of that river is the same power that flows through every breath you take.

You are a miracle. Not metaphorically. Literally.

So today, what will you choose?

Will you let the facts define your future? Or will you believe in the Truth of what God is still doing?

You don’t need to prove anything. You don’t need to earn the miraculous. You simply get to receive it.

Let’s walk forward together—not by what we see, but by what we know deep in our spirit: that with God, the impossible is already unfolding.

May we become the kind of people who believe before the facts line up. Who step out on the water. Who live not just by knowledge—but by divine trust.

Abundant blessings to you today and always,

Nicholas Branch