“I guess God lied to me.”
I had a friend message that to me on facebook the other day.
I began to respond with a gentle rebuke and then I had to stop because I thought of the times I’ve said the same things either to friends or just to myself in the echoing silence of an empty house.
So I started thinking about the phrase and why I and my friend (and, I will venture, many other followers of Christ) have used the same phrase.
And it hit me.
It’s because of unreasonable hope.
A proverb came to mind as I pondered things and I just marveled anew at the truth of the Proverbs.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12 ESV)
Now, that proverb is pointed in that it says “hope”. It doesn’t just say “reasonable hope” or “God given hope” or “likely hope”. Hope, no matter how misdirected, can be something that makes the heart “sick”. That is a nice way of saying depression. Frustration. Loneliness. Desperation.
Doubt in God.
So many of us pray and seek God. We’re told to pray and seek by our pastors and spiritual leaders. Fast and pray. After all…
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27 ESV)
And how can you go against Scripture? If you pray and feel God’s telling you to do something then you put your hope in it. If it’s something you really want like a new job or a spouse or a financial blessing or some other blessing then it’s just a bonus.
And then that “thing” doesn’t happen.
So…”God lied” or “I heard God wrong.”
In any event, God is brought into the mix as either lying to you or somehow you heard God wrong and that means God isn’t going to give you a long held dream.
Either way, you feel the sorrow. The pain. Betrayal. Distrust.
You begin to question if you really are being led by God. If you can feel His direction.
You might even question if you’re saved at all. After all, if you can’t hear his voice…
However, consider this:
And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14 ESV)
We have a very real enemy who aims to deceive your mind. If he can get you believing things are of God that are not of God, he succeeds in driving a wedge between you and the Lord. He succeeds in weakening your faith. He succeeds in making you doubt your own salvation.
Look, I’m not saying that you might not hear God wrong because you’re hoping so hard for something that you want.
However, it’s not always because of you hearing GOD wrong. He certainly doesn’t lie to you.
Spiritual warfare is real. You’re in it whether you like it or not. It benefits you in the long run to be aware of it.
