To Call God a Liar

There’s nothing quite like a good bout of discouragement. You can’t help breathing in the sweet aroma of suffering, savoring each sip of uncertainty. Nothing beats the warm fuzzies of financial or medical crisis, or the melodious moments of family division and dissonance.

We can’t help but smile up at God in those moments, point a playful finger, and say, “Oh YOU.” (Wink, wink.) “You always know just what I need!”

If your face looks a little like THIS right now…

…then we’re both on the same page: Suffering is about as welcome as a poisonous snake in a closed elevator.

No matter how many great days I have or how often I feel focused, inspired, and fully alive, there will always be days, weeks, or seasons where the weight of my world seems to press in so hard that I can’t seem to breathe.

My passion and confidence wane, and I feel disoriented and shaky, testing whether the foundation of my life is rock or sand.

This was a rough week for me: I couldn’t control my diabetes no matter what I tried; I wrestled through a crisis of purpose and inherent resentment; and I was knee deep in insurance phone calls that start with an overly-perky automated voice and dubious reminders that “your call is important to us.”

Worst of all, my struggles lead me into a dangerous head space with God, questioning His love and goodness, doubting His intentions towards me.

Like an angry child I was willing to ignore all the evidence of my Father’s love and proclaim that He didn’t hear, or didn’t care, and that I couldn’t really trust Him.

And when I based my facts on feelings, I decided that it wasn’t worth it to obey a God who wasn’t who He said He was. (Insert pout and silent treatment here.)

Then God began to show me a series of verses that revealed the depth of the enemy’s schemes against me in those dark places.

• Mark 14:55 ” The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any.”
• Job 40:8 “Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?“
• 1 John 1:10: “If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

So let me unpack my journey. I realized that in my anger I was acting like the chief priests that sentenced Jesus to death in Mark 14: I was literally looking for circumstantial evidence against Jesus and His goodness.

Job reminded me that in my frustration I decided that I had a better grasp on justice than God, and felt justified condemning God to feel better about my actions and anger in the short run.

But 1 John spelled out my sin in shocking clarity: When I let my negative circumstances dictate who God is, I was making Him out to be a liar.

This rightly horrifies me, because there is a father of lies, but it isn’t God. When I remain in God’s truth, I’m able to see my true enemy, declare what he says to be false, and stand in God’s strength against enemy attacks.

But what happens when the enemy gets me to believe that God is a liar? I stop fighting AGAINST the enemy because he’s convinced me the enemy is God.

We often talk about how the enemy attacks our identity and purpose as believers, sowing doubt in our minds over who we are in Christ.

But a more sinister tactic is to get us to question God’s identity. If our identity is inextricably connected to God’s, then the enemy needs only to prick our mind and plant the tiniest seed of doubt over God’s truth. Our unchecked feelings are like the roots of that seed that burrow deep and crack the surface of our faith further.

It seems so innocent….until we realize that the enemy has planted mutiny and we’re calling God a liar.

Let’s go back to the passage in Mark 14 for a moment. The religious leaders and witnesses were hurling UNTRUE accusations against Jesus, much like my untrue accusations this week. And as I questioned God, I was somewhat infuriated that He didn’t seem to answer me. I assumed God just didn’t care if He wasn’t going to write His three point rebuttal on my living room wall or at least explain Himself through a burning house plant.

But Mark 14:61 reminds me that when He was under attack: “…Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.”

In fact, the ONLY time He answers their attacks or questions is when the high priest asks: “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” (vs 61)

Jesus replies: “I am.” (vs 62)

Jesus didn’t respond to their accusations against His ACTIONS. He only defended their question about His IDENTITY.

I believe this reveals a vital truth: God knows that if we trust His identity, then we can have faith even when we don’t understand His actions. But if we don’t trust His character, His essence, His qualities- we will always twist His actions against Him.

I still struggle when I’m crying out to God in anger and don’t feel His clear answer. But in those dark moments, God isn’t going to always “fix” my circumstances to prove His goodness, because He wants me to trust His goodness beyond my circumstances.

When I say, “God, why don’t you care? Why won’t you answer? Why won’t you help?” and He doesn’t respond or simply reminds me He’s God, I get indignant. “If you are what you say, then why don’t you DO something?”

And He replies, “I proved who I am when I made you and died for you, daughter. I don’t owe you anything, and until you BELIEVE ME I can’t give you rest, strength, and hope.”

If God seems painfully silent in response to your cries, it may be that no justification of His ACTIONS will satisfy you until you trust His IDENTITY.

I challenge you today to join me in standing against the enemy and boldly declaring:

“MY CIRCUMSTANCES DON’T HAVE TO POWER TO CHANGE MY GOD.”

Your turn: What circumstances cause you to doubt God’s identity and character? Do you believe that God’s proof of His identity and character from Creation to Cross is sufficient? How do YOU stand firm in God’s identity regardless of what circumstances try to tell you? How can awareness of the enemy’s schemes help us stand on guard?