If you’ve been feeling discouraged or you’re tempted to believe lies about God, this blog is for you.
Lately, I’ve felt God longing to release His truth over His people. He hates when we are in turmoil. So, today, let’s combat just a few of these lies (five) and rest in His promises instead: of who you are and who He is.
Damaging Belief 1: If my prayers aren’t answered, He isn’t listening.
Truth: 1 John 5:14- “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” He hears us. He is working.
Not seeing the results is one of the biggest challenges we will face in this life. In heaven, we will never need to demonstrate this trust because we will never be in need. Now- on earth- is the one time we will ever be in need. This is the only time we can choose to trust Him in the waiting. And what a beautiful opportunity to trust in what He tells us. HE HEARS.
2: God is cruel if He lets bad things happen to us.
Truth: God never designed bad to happen to us. In the garden, there was only good. And when people chose to embrace evil and knowledge outside of God, pain came into the world. God doesn’t cause pain, He fights against it. He is our advocate and He heals, rescues, redeems, and restores. And while we don’t always understand, we can place our faith in what He said: “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
3: If one believer is hypocritical or imperfect, Jesus is a joke.
Truth: Jesus opens His arms to all. One of the best things about Christianity is that God doesn’t require perfection to be Christian, though He encourages us to pursue holiness, and He works to convict us and refine us (if we let Him). Some don’t let Him. And this leaves us with a lot of people who may have Jesus in their hearts, but who have areas in their lives that are harmful to others. God hates sin, but He sees every person beyond their sin. He never distances Himself from someone because of their imperfections. Society ‘cancels’, but God looks for ways to bring people out of darkness. Jesus isn’t a ‘joke’ because he loves sinners. This is what makes Him the very opposite of a joke.
4: God needs me to do _____ for Him to do ______.
Truth: If I open myself up to God, I’m probably going to experience more of Him. This is a natural consequence. But there’s a difference between natural consequences and karma. If you believe you will *make* good come your way by acting perfectly, you’re engaging in karma. Many Christians think we need to act perfectly, pray perfectly, pray 10 times and turn in a circle, for God to answer our prayers.
By all means, if God asks you to turn in a circle as a sign of your faith, then do it. But most of the time, we are acting compulsively to try and force God to move.
God is not karma. And He isn’t impressed with compulsive actions. Just ask Him for your desires. He hears you.
And finally,
5: God must not want me to have more of Him. I can’t feel it happening.
Truth: Matt 7:9-11 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
Asking for more of God is holy, pure, and in God’s will. God will always give more of Himself. So if you ask to hear Him better or see Him more clearly, you can trust He is moving. I asked for years to hear Him more clearly and I became angry, thinking He wasn’t doing anything. It’s only now, years later, that I see He was teaching me that whole time. He knows exactly what we need. Sometimes we can’t understand how it’s happening, but we can trust that He loves to give this.
In everything: We can trust Him. And take Him at His word.
Damaging beliefs about God are rampant. But what is most important to know is God loves you. He loves how He made you. He works for your good. He doesn’t need for you to earn anything. HE HEARS YOU. He is in the process with you. He isn’t against you. He isn’t a joke. He is all loving. And He will stand with you in the highs and in the lows.
He is there, and as much as we doubt Him, His truths are the truest truths in the world.
