Don’t Lie to God

I have an active little girl named Caylen Joy. If you saw her, you’d probably think “Aww, how precious.” (I am not biased at all *smile*) Yet, as precious as she may be, she is one tough cookie. She can trip and fall, and then just get right back up without missing a beat. She can walk, run, or roll into hard objects, and just keep right on going!

I’ll ask her, “Are you okay, baby girl?”

Her answer is usually, “Yes, Mommy!”

And I believe her…. most of the time.

But one day, she took a hard blow playing with some kids on a playground, and I asked my usual “Are you okay, baby girl?” She responded with her usual “Yes, Mommy.” Yet this time, my “mommy senses” were tingling. I observed the tone of her voice, the countenance of her little face, and the look in her big brown eyes, and I said, “No, you’re not okay. You’re hurting.”

She ran into my arms and allowed her tears to flow, and I held her close as long as she needed.

I’m trying to be the best parent I can be, but I am a flawed human. All our parents are or were flawed humans as well.

Yet, all of us in Christ Jesus do have one perfect parent—our Heavenly Father.

He is holy.

He is sovereign.

He is good.

He is just.

Another one of His characteristics is that He is all knowing. As our Creator, He actually knows us better than we can ever know ourselves.

And yet, often times, we are not completely honest with God, especially when we are hurting.

It may be the religious traditions in which we grew up. It may be the ideas we have about God’s nature. It may be that we’re afraid. But whatever the reason, we do not always share our true, unfiltered feelings with God. And if that’s the case for you, I pray it changes today. When it comes to how you feel, I have this advice:

Don’t lie to God.

So how might being honest with God about our feelings look?

Let’s explore a few words of a man named David:

1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
    or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint;
    heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.
3 My soul is in deep anguish.
    How long, Lord, how long?

4 Turn, Lord, and deliver me;
    save me because of your unfailing love.
5 Among the dead no one proclaims your name.
    Who praises you from the grave?

6 I am worn out from my groaning.

All night long I flood my bed with weeping
    and drench my couch with tears.
7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
    they fail because of all my foes.

Psalm 6:1-7

Did you see David’s emotional vulnerability and honesty with God?

Sometimes in Christian circles, we try to quickly sprinkle “Jesus glitter” over our pain. When we suffer a loss or trauma (or get punched in the face by life as we discussed last time), we try to use our faith to move past it quickly.

Well, God has a reason for it.

Well, my loved one is in Heaven with God now.

Well, God will work it out for good.

As true as all those statements may be, they do not replace the need to truly grieve and lament before our Heavenly Father. Let’s not take our Christian platitudes to God. Let’s embrace that God’s Word is true and we can feel hurt at the same time. We may add to the statements above like this:

Father, I believe You have a reason for allowing this into my life, and it hurts right now. I feel confused and disoriented.

Father, I believe my loved one is in Your presence right now, and I expected them to be in my presence longer, and I miss them deeply. I cry and cry and cry.

Father, I believe that You work all things together for good, and I do not see any good right now. I see only bad and darkness and pain right now.

We can be honest with our Heavenly Father.

He can handle it.

Remember, He knows everything about us anyway. We can hide nothing from Him.

I imagine us having moments with our Heavenly Father like my daughter had with me on the playground that day.

We take a hard blow in life—a death, a betrayal, a diagnosis, a loss, a hurt—and our Heavenly Father asks by His Spirit, “Are you okay, my child?”

With our Jesus glitter and Christian platitudes ready, we say, “Yes, Father.”

And He looks at us with great compassion and says, “No, you’re not okay. You’re hurting.”

May we do as my Caylen Joy did and run into our Heavenly Father’s arms and let our tears flow, our emotions flow, our questions flow.

He’ll hold us as long as we need.

Indeed, He’ll hold us the rest of our days.

Are there any feelings you need to be honest about with God right now?

Are you feeling sad about anything? Tell Him.

Are you feeling afraid about anything? Tell Him.

Are you feeling angry about anything? Are you angry at Him? Tell Him.

It is from this place of honesty in His presence that we can truly begin to heal.

Our process of responding to life’s face punches does not end here, though, so be sure to tune in next time!

Your Sister-Friend,

Leah