It’s Not Your Fault
At a recent Pray Big conference I was approached by a woman after one of the sessions. She immediately appeared to be very shy and timid—painfully so. She talked in a quiet voice, almost a whisper.
She told me that she was concerned about her teenage daughter. She was starting to rebel a little and maybe even questioning her faith. The troubled mom wanted to know how she could pray biblical prayers for her daughter. As we talked, the woman mentioned in passing that her son had gone through a similar rebellion at the same age. Curious, I asked how he had turned out. She told me that he had killed himself when he was 19. He had never really pulled out of his rebellion. She had prayed and prayed, but he never turned back to God. Obviously, she was terrified that her daughter might be taking her first steps down the same path.
The most tragic part of this conversation was that the woman had fallen prey to the “if you were a better Christian” lie. Somehow, her son’s suicide was a reflection of her failed faith. She was consumed with guilt. She was convinced that her son’s death was her fault. For years Satan had been beating on her with his “You didn’t pray enough. You weren’t good enough,” lies. And she believed him. Not only was this woman gripped by shame, but she was stuck in her pain because of it. God’s efforts to heal this woman of her loss had been thwarted by the death grip of her belief that she had caused her son’s suicide. And now that her daughter was starting to show signs of similar behavior, the devil was really wreaking havoc in this woman’s life.
Rarely have I seen a Christian so held captive by Satan’s lies. That dear woman is a vivid example of just how devastating the “you weren’t good enough” lie can be.
The truth is that you can be a committed Christian and still have hard days and seasons. You can be very close to Jesus and still end up in a world of trouble. Bad things happen–sometimes it’s because of your sin, but often it has nothing to do with you. So if you get a cold, it doesn’t mean God is punishing you. If you get a pink slip at your job or a neighbor decides to sue you, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve fallen out of God’s good graces. As Christians, we’re going to have bad days. But those bad days aren’t typically a result of our lack of love for Jesus. The fact is, we live in a sinful world. Heartache is bound to come.
Jesus seemed to go out of his way to let his followers know that troubles would find them. But he was also quick to point out that bad things shouldn’t be interpreted as a sign that you weren’t spiritual enough.
Jesus made it clear that troubles were going to come. But don’t let Satan lie to you. Those troubles aren’t necessarily a sign of your disobedience or your weak faith. Sometimes your troubles will come because of your faith.
From Ten Things Jesus Never Said: And Why You Should Stop Believing Them
