I've Seen the End of Youనమూనా

God Cannot Tell a Lie

In the months after my son’s death, I was caught in a quandary: I knew that holding on to God was the path for­ward, but I believed and I doubted and I ac­tively disbelieved at the same time.

I believed in God. I believed he’s good. I believed he can heal people, solve problems, work miracles, and give us strength to go through difficult times. 

I doubted I would ever heal from losing my son. I doubted my words could offer any real comfort to another grieving parent. I doubted that tomorrow would seem any more hopeful than today.

What changed this for me was the revelation that God cannot tell a lie. And if it is true, then even when it seems impossible, it must also be true that God can use everything for good.

That realization was a subtle bit of grace I wasn’t fully able to appreciate at the time. But I could feel its weight and somehow knew it was the rope I’d been looking for that would pull me out of the hole: all God’s promises are true, or none of them are. Said another way, if God cannot tell a lie, then all his promises are true. Even when it doesn’t feel like it. Even when you’re going through the hardest thing you can imagine.

During this time I found Psalm 34 incredibly comforting. Verse 18 says, “ If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there; if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath." (The Message). I could read those words, and even on the days when intellectually I wanted to shake my fist and de­clare my hatred for a God who would let my son die, in my spirit I knew the verse was true.

When the worst things happen, when your son dies or your doctor says it’s cancer, when your husband strays or the bank forecloses, Romans 12:11-12 seems ridiculous on its face: “Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder” (The Message). This is ludicrous when your life is falling apart, unless it is actually true.

Name a promise of God that you have always wanted to be true, even if you sometimes doubt it. How might the belief that God cannot lie affect your moments of doubt?