What Lies Within

Facing the Lies We Live By

Lie #3. God has forsaken me.

I. The Liar
Despite the fact that Satan is one of the most powerful beings ever created, as believers
we have been given power and authority over him. Realizing the depths of authority we
have been given he has perfected a series of stratagems designed to strip us of our power
and leave us vulnerable to his attacks. No matter how these strategies vary one
element is always present: a lie.
John 8:44
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He
was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in
him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
II. The Lie
A. The Fiction
1. I am forsaken by God.
Whether it is Scripture, history or the reality of our own lives, it is clear that
there are times when every Christian feels horribly forsaken by God.
Psalms 22:1-2, 6-8
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving
me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you
do not answer, by night, and am not silent. But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people. who see me mock me; they hurl
insults, shaking their heads: "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him, since he delights in him."
Job 9:32-34
"He is not a man like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each
other in court. If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand
upon us both, someone to remove God's rod from me, so that his terror would
frighten me no more.


Job 17:1, 6-7, 11
My spirit is broken, my days are cut short, the grave awaits me. "God
has made me a byword to everyone, a man in whose face people spit.
My eyes have grown dim with grief; my whole frame is but a shadow.
My days have passed, my plans are shattered, and so are the desires
of my heart.
B. The Fact
1. No matter how abandoned we feel, God promises that He will never forsake
us nor forsake us.
Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the
LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
Psalms 27:10
Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.

Matthew 28:20
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am
with you always, to the very end of the age."
Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you
have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

III. The Loss
The state of feeling abandoned or forsaken by God is usually accompanied by the
following losses:
A. Presence- Feeling a stark lack of Gods presence or a sense of some
impenetrable wall.
Job 23:3
If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling!
B. Personal Communication- With the absence of Gods presence, intimacy and
communication become difficult and may even seem impossible at times. This is
especially true when your image of God has been fractured and/or you are still in the
beginning stages of learning to hear God.
Lamentations 3:8
Even when I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer.
C. Persuasion- As the communication barriers grow it is easy to lose our faith. We may
find that we are being persuaded about things we once believed with great
confidence.
D. Purpose- With our faith and confidence shaken we begin to question the things we
have built our lives on.
Matthew 11:2-3
When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his
disciples to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect
someone else?
IV. The Labor
Recovering our faith and confidence while feeling abandoned and forsaken creates an
excruciating conundrum for the human soul.
A. Announce- As valuable as renouncing lies can be, announcing the truth of Scripture
is even more effective.
2 Corinthians 4:7-10,13
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is
from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but
not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the
life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken."With that same spirit of faith
we also believe and therefore speak,
As we encourage ourselves in the Lord, we gain the perspective we need to begin the
process of analysis.
1 Samuel 30:6-8
David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each
one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found
strength in the LORD his God. Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of
Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." Abiathar brought it to him, and David inquired
of the LORD, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?"
"Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in
the rescue."

B. Analyze- Its not wrong to ask Why? Even J esus, when cut-off from His fathers
presence experiencing a sense of forsakenness we will never know, asked Why?
Matthew 27:46
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama
sabachthani?"which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
What factors caused J esus to cry out in such agony? This question is important because it
will help us to better understand the painful seasons of life.
1. Darkness-The darkness surrounding J esus was multi-dimensional. First, there
was external darkness, an eclipse (Matthew 27:45). Then there was spiritual
darkness through the powers of hell tormenting Him (Luke 22:53).
And finally there was internal darkness through the loss of His fathers
presence and voice (Matthew 27:46).
2. Pain- As J esus experienced both personal and redemptive pain, it grew harder
for Him to maintain contact with His Father (Luke 22:40-43, Is 53:4)
3. Sin- As the sin of the world was laid on our perfect Savior, He was cut off
from His fathers presence (2 Corinthians 5:21). Unlike J esus, who was perfect,
we have all personally sinned. This affects our relationship with God.

Isaiah 59:1-2
Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from
your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not
hear.
C. Associate- In these dark moments we must reach out to humans as well as to God.
Hebrews 3:12-13
See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart
that turns away from the living God.

But encourage one another
daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be
hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
Matthew 26:37-38
He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and
he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them,
"My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay
here and keep watch with me."
D. Assume- There are at least four critical assumptions that can help us recover the sense
of Gods love and presence.
1. Revelation- Pain is one of Gods greatest teachers. He is in the process of
showing us new things through our pain.
Hebrews 12:7
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons.
For what son is not disciplined by his father?
2. Reliance- God is stripping me of self-reliance so I can learn to depend on
Him.
2 Corinthians 1:8-9
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the
hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under
great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we
despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence
of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves
but on God, who raises the dead.
3. Redemption- My life is not just about me. My pain is part of a greater
redemptive strategy.
Matthew 27:51-53
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from
top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs
broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died
were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus'
resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many
people.
Colossians 1:24
Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my
flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the
sake of his body, which is the church.
4. Relationship- The ultimate purpose of my pain is to bring me into an more
intimate relationship with God. Whether this pain is external (persecution) or
internal (rejection and abandonment) it can lead you to deeper fellowship with
God.
Philippians 3:10
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the
fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his
death