3 Lies You’ve Been Believing About God (Part One)

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{The first in a 3-part series}

Is it possible you believe fairy tales about God?

When I was a child I loved reading fairy tales and make-believe stories.  Somehow the lessons from those stories affected my view of God.  Though I also grew up going to church, when I became a new Christian in my late teens I imagined God as a benevolent grandfather who waited to reward my desire to do things the right way.  Those assumptions didn’t always work for me.

What about you?

Here are three lies about God that are common today:

Lie #1: God never causes bad things to happen.  In fact, He knows my plight in this hard world, knows I mean well and, like a fairy godmother, wants to wave away my poor circumstances and show Himself miraculous.

This is one of the most difficult theological questions in Scripture, because it requires deep thinking and reading to understand why a sovereign God would allow evil.  So let me focus on just one slice of this issue that I think is easier to grasp.

One night when my husband and I went out for a dinner date and left our youngest children, 15 and 14, with one simple instruction: Don’t watch TV and get your homework done. As I walked out the door I added a P.S.: “And if you finish your homework early, read a book. No TV.”

Pulling in the driveway several hours later, we saw the blue glow of the television screen through the window. To be sure we had the upper hand I stood in front of the window watching them glued to the screen while Dennis walked in the back door calling out, “We’re home!”

Instantly, they jumped into action, turned off the TV and hopped into chairs with books, like innocent angels.

“How was your evening?”

“It was great!”

“Watch any TV?”

“On no, Dad.”

“Ah, then I want you to look out the window and wave at your mom who was watching you before I came in the door.”

For one entire month these two lost their media privileges—no TV, no gchat (this was before texting), no phones.  From their perspective our discipline was bad.  How could we do this to them?  Didn’t we know they didn’t really mean to disobey? Couldn’t we believe the best about them and give them grace?

Though they could not dispute the facts, they still felt our discipline was too extreme, and unfair relative to their friends’ experiences.  But our decision stood because we valued their growing understanding of the nature of sin. If God hates lying—and He said He does in Proverbs 6:16-17—then we as parents must also.

In chapter 45 of Isaiah God repeats an authoritative phrase four times: “I am the Lord, there is no other.” Immediately following the second repetition, God adds specifics of His power, shocking our modern notions of who He is: “I am the Lord, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these” (verses 6-7, NASB).

Creating calamity? How do those words make you feel?  When I first read this verse I was shocked and felt confused, even anxious and fearful.

At the heart of this lie—that God never causes bad things to happen— is the question of God’s sovereignty. Is He in control or not? And can He still be loving at the same time?

I do not pretend to understand the mysteries of His authority and will.  But there are facets of His character woven throughout His inspired Word, which tells the story of His sovereign orchestration of thousands of situations with the good and loving purpose of calling men and women and children to Himself.   And look at Hebrews 12:4-11, which tells us that God disciplines us as a parent disciplines his children.  Verse 11 says, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

Even though God has brought calamity to my world—like our teens felt we brought to theirs—and though I did not and still do not understand His whys, He is my Lord and I choose to believe that it is part of His plan for my life.

But that was the Old Testament, you might be thinking. Things are different in the New Testament, right?

I’ll answer this question next week, but for now I hope this post will make you think about what you believe. Don’t stress over it not making sense because “His ways are higher than our ways.” I pray you will say, “Teach me more about who You are. Help me trust You in all that I don’t understand.”

Stay tuned!

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7 thoughts on “3 Lies You’ve Been Believing About God (Part One)”

  1. Rick Montgomery

    This is one of the things that I’ve thought about in my faith. If God created EVERYTHING, then he also created evil. Not that he exercises the bad, as in the Job example, but he created it. If he didn’t create it, then would the “credit” go to Satan? I don’t stress over it, and don’t even get close to understanding all of God’s plans, but this article was certainly an interesting perspective! Thanks!

  2. God does not do bad things but He allows bad to happen to refine and prepare us for true life. He wants us to lean on Him and Him only.

  3. The Lord does not do bad evil things. Read Job, Chapter 1, when Satan came to the Lords court, verse 12, And the Lord sid unto Satan, Behold all that he hath is in thy power, only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. Chapter 2, read verses 1 -6. Verse 6, And the Lord said to Satan, Behold he is in thine hand, but save his life.

    The Lord allowed Satan to torment Job, because the Lord can not do evil. Do not be deceived, there is consequences for sin, but the consequences are not evil. e Lord has spelled it all out. The consequences are over come with he acceptance of the blood of Jesus on the cross.

  4. It is amazing how we are so easily duped into believing as the world wants us to believe. I recently had an issue with a tire with a slow leak. On Sunday I stopped and filled the tire and noticed a screw or nail in the face of the tire. When I got it fixed, of course, the tire could not be repaired. I bought two new tires for the back of my Kia Soul and figured God allowed this to prod me into getting the new tires I had thought about getting. Not a major catastrophe, but a lesson not to put off doing what I knew was necessary for our safety.

  5. Wow! I never saw that scripture as much as I read that chapter before. I have been taught that God Does not cause bad things to happen but he allows them to happen like in Job’s case. Thank you for proving with scriptures that God do cause bad times and good times. The devil will not get that credit anymore.

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