I have not written to you because you do not know the truth,
but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
1 John 2:21
In the Christian life we often talk about lies. Hearing the
enemy’s lies, not believing them, trying to not trip over them, etc. If we’re
talking about them, these lies have been detected, what about the lies that
slip by unnoticed? But how can I notice an unnoticed lie?
Unnoticed lies tend to come in pairs. One egregious lie
followed by a more acceptable lie.
Example: After I graduated college, I started applying for
jobs (lots of jobs!) All I heard back from these potential employers was
silence, not a single follow-up conversation, interview, nothing.
Egregious lie – All the raving your professors did over your
work must not be true, you apparently don’t have the skills to get noticed,
come on you have no “real” work experience you’re just a newbie designer with a
pathetic associates degree. (You really should have gone for the
bachelors.)
I felt horrible hearing these things and they reflected how
I felt, but could I really accept them? There was just too much proof that I
had a gift for this kind of work and I knew the Lord had called me to pursue
this degree. And my advisor had told me at the beginning that you didn’t need
the bachelors if you had the projects to prove your ability.
But why wasn’t I getting any work? What was the answer to
that question if the egregious lie wasn’t true?
Acceptable lie – The Lord is keeping the door closed because
He knows that you can’t handle a real job with your health issues.
That made sense, that must be the reason, end of
conversation.
The Bible tells us in many different ways that our vision
and understanding of what’s really going on is limited.
For we walk by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7
Isaiah 55:9
And individual verses are not the only example of this.
Think about any of our fathers and mothers of the faith? Abraham and Sarah,
Jacob, Ruth, David, the disciples, and so on. We read accounts of them not
knowing where they are going! And the Lord at work the whole time. Yet, despite
all of this we are still afraid to admit, we don’t know.
Why wasn’t I getting any work? The truth? I didn’t know. Not
knowing is a vulnerable place to be. So, to cope with this and to try and
protect myself from the egregious lies, I accepted the seemingly more possible
reason.
I’ll admit, even while I was accepting that “reason” I
couldn’t get over Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
If my health issue was really the reason I wasn’t getting
work, what about this verse? Now the Lord may not grant me the supernatural
grace to have the fulltime job if that’s not His plan for me, but “the Lord
keeping the door closed because He knows that I can’t handle a real job with my
health issues” contradicts this verse. What He knows is that I can do
all things through Him.
If left unchecked, these “acceptable” lies shackle us to our
circumstances and diminish our confidence in the Lord’s greatness and power.
The only way I see out of this destructive cycle is to
accept the truth… I don’t know.
Why do I keep riding on this merry-go-round of medications
year after year only to find the same incomplete results? None of them seem to
be able to completely manage my symptoms. Why? I’ve been faithful, I’ve been a
good sport, I’ve been willing to suffer to give them a chance. Why? The truth?
I don’t know.
But what do I know?
And we know that all
things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the
called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10
I know the Lord, I know His nature, I know He will use for
good and I know He has a greater eternal purpose that is higher than I can
comprehend.
That is not to say we never “see” the reason here on earth,
because we do often see a part of it. If I had gotten a full-time job right out
of college I would not have been able to help my pastor friend with his Bible
study, I would not have taken a Motion Graphic Design class and discovered how
much I enjoy that type of design! I wouldn’t have gotten to be a part of an eight-month
internship making motion graphic design videos in Spanish that prepared me for
the paying contract work I got now that needs me to design in different
languages.
And these are just a few of the visible facts, it’s hard to
know the impact the Lord has on the people we interact with, but there were a
lot of people I would not have known if things had not gone the way that they
did.
Now this isn’t to say living with a “why” is easy, just
trust the Lord, pat answer. I have grieved for those who have lost spouses and
children. I have deeply wrestled with that “why” to find no acceptable answer.
All I know is, if we don’t cling to the Lord even in the face of horrific
“whys” we have nothing. The world offers nothing. The Lord offers that shred of
hope, hope that death is not the end and His higher ways can somehow work
through even the darkest of tragedies.
This morning as I lay awake in bed, I thought over all the
lies that have shackled me and wondered how did I get here? And more
importantly, how do I get free?
What “acceptable” lies have you accepted as truth?
Dear Father, it’s scary for us to admit that we don’t have
the answers, that we can’t explain the why to the challenges and tragedies we
and others face in this life. It makes us feel vulnerable and eager to find
some mental “protection” opening us up to accept lies as truth. Forgive us Lord
for trying to comfort ourselves with anything other than You. Be merciful to us
for You know our frame and remember that we are dust. Please expose the lies we
have accepted and empower us by your Holy Spirit to trust in Your nature when
we don’t know the why. As John said we know the truth and we know that no lie
is truth. Free us to trust You. In Jesus Christ’ name, amen.
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