TRIALS AND THE LIES WE BELIEVE ABOUT GOD;
LIES WE OFTEN – CHOOSE- TO BELIEVE ABOUT GOD in our TRIALS.
1.- We – CHOOSE – to believe IF GOD LOVED ME He WOULDN’T LET THIS HAPPEN TO ME!
2. – We – Choose – to believe He CANNOT BE TRUSTED.
3. We – CHOOSE – to believe He will not HONOR HIS WORD to us. For Others maybe, but not us.
4. – We -CHOOSE- to believe He DOES NOT CARE About Us.
5. – We -CHOOSE – to believe the lie that we have so sinned, so messed up that we are “not worthy,” of HIS HELP or Forgiveness! Indeed our only “worthiness” is always based on the “worthiness” of Jesus Christ, His righteousness on our behalf.
6. We- Choose- to believe God Has FORGOTTEN and ABANDONED us -{Read Psalm 13:1-2}
7. We- Choose – To Believe God Is Angry with us and is PUNISHING Us!
8. – We-CHOOSE – to believe we are SELF- SUFFICIENT!
We believe we can “fix” it and we choose to “lean to our own understanding”– which God forbids in Prov 3:5-6. We trust ourselves MORE than we trust God. We believe we are the answer not Him. How do you know? Look whom you turn to when a trial comes.
“indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;”-{ 2 Cor 1:9}. Some trials are used of Him to tech us not to be self reliant but GOD DEPENDENT!
James 1:5 God COMMANDS us to Immediately, directly go to HIM when we encounter any and all trials and he will give generously, lavishly all the wisdom you need for the trial you are in. Divine insight and understanding TO PROPERLY RESPOND in the trial , which expresses Love to Him- James 1:12.
LIES- They all are attacks on the character of God. Whether these thoughts are “fiery darts” of the evil one to tempt you to DOUBT and DISHONOR God with your response in the trial or whether the trial is just revealing what is in our hearts in our view of God is revealed.
How do you know the difference between the “fiery dart” and what is in your heart?
FIERY DART; With the “fiery dart”- It- the “thought” DOES NOT HONOR GOD! The response is to RECOGNIZE and REJECT the thought as a temptation to solicit you to sin by embracing and choosing to believe the lies. NO ONE OUTSIDE OF YOU – CAN CAUSE YOU TO CHOOSE- TO BELIEVE THE LIES! You Recognize the Thought, Take it to His Word, and REPLACE it with TRUTH! Then MEDITATE on His Word, REPLAY it again and again in your thinking so as to THINK on the Truth and that will TRANSFORM the way we think, and make decisions. It is to see Life from God’s perspective, to influence us to live life to love Him, and others with “all your MIND…” a major part of it! We often try and by pass the “mind’ when god says that we are to love Him with all of our mind. “…‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, “Love your neighbor as yourself.'” – {Luke 10:27}
YOUR OWN HEART; If it is our own heart, we base it on why do we believe these lies, as though they are true? Because we often “feel” they are true! We “lean to our own understanding” and we say, based on how we “feel, think” that we are “God,” because we believe we are WISER than Him. -It is Idolatry. We “believe” we are the ultimate authority, not Him, not His Word- Mad isn’t it? Sinful thinking=sinful responses!
In both cases we need to renew our mind with His Word, believing and acting upon it!
- TRIALS ARE A GIGANTIC OPPORTUNITY TO GROW – WISE- James 1:5
- TRIALS ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO –EXPRESS LOVE TO GOD– THROUGH OBEDIENT FAITH- James 1:12
WHICH “LIE” ARE…YOU…CHOOSING TO BELIEVE about GOD in your trial? Believe the truth. Base your choices on His Truth, His Word.- {Read Rom 12:2; James 1:2-12.}
“Whatever things are true, lovely, praiseworthy…LET your MIND Dwell on these things.“-Phil 4:8- THINK on the TRUTH! THINK RIGHT v 8- And in v9 says we are to DO RIGHT.
Trials are part and parcel of life. They are inevitable, James writes “when you encounter various trials,” not “If” but “when…” Trials are inevitable but our responses are a choice. Choose to believe God as evidenced by obeying His Word in the midst by faith, or choosing to believe and act on the lies and so DOUBT and DISHONOR Him.
Trials are gigantic opportunities to become WISE and express LOVE to Him by obedient faith and HONOR AND KNOW Him more intimately through the trials – {Read James 1:5, 12}
THE CHOICE- is yours, it is mine, whom or what we choose to Believe, whether LIES or TRUTH?… WHETHER WE CHOOSE TO LEAN TO OUR OWN UNDERSTANDING….OR GOD, AND WHAT HIS WORD TEACHES?