Trusting and Believing: Devotions From Time of GraceSample

Why Is It so Hard to Trust God?
Denial

Children love to pretend. They have a rich fantasy life and effortlessly slide into their own parallel universe. The plan is to quit pretending when you are an adult and learn to see and accept reality.

If only. I bet you know plenty of other adults who are still pretending. Single people move in with each other and pretend to be married. Married people act as though they are single. Sedated by drugs or alcohol, people pretend that their lives are fine. People pretend to be financially successful, but behind the scenes they stagger under enormous mortgages, home equity loans, and maxed-out credit cards.

The worst kind of self-delusion is to pretend that you are morally good enough for God. You can blame other people for your sins. You can compare yourself with people farther down the food chain and feel superior. You can indulge in selective memory, remembering only what makes you look good.

God’s view? Living in a state of spiritual denial is deadly. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). You need help.

I need help. God’s help.