You are of your Father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn't stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it. John 8:44 WEB.

We had been out of work for months, and the bills continued to pile up around us. The worst part was that I hadn't heard from God in a while. That's always the real test. The cold shoulder and feeling of abandonment that comes with it. A timely word from God changes everything and makes things easy. You get to see who you really are inside when that's taken away, and it's often not very pretty.

When I would try and pray, crazy thoughts would run through my mind like: "God has abandoned you. He doesn't hear you or care. No one cares about you. You are a failure, and soon you'll be homeless. Your spouse is going to leave you. Why don't you just end it?"

I know that God is always there for us, but there are times of testing. God left Hezekiah to try him so that He might know all that was in his heart (2 Chronicles 32:31). When Jesus bore our sin on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21), God turned away from Him, and it broke His heart. Jesus said: "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). There will be times when God is silent in this life, and His word comes "after many days" (1 Kings 18:1). Think of it as a dramatic pause before saying something important.

For me, it was a time of testing and silence, but it wasn't completely silent. I heard doom, despair, and agony every day from the liar. It was a difficult, dark time in my life, but it eventually passed, and God came through for us. When all hope was gone and we were packing to move out of our house, we were suddenly pushed into the ministry. God had something new for us, and within about forty-eight hours, all of our bills were paid for the month. The test had a beginning and an end.

The doom and gloom was a bunch of lies. God was merely promoting us, and this was the path. The old doors had to be closed before we would look for the new door He was opening. Jesus called the devil "the father of lies." All day long, he whispers lies into your ear.

First, he just gets you to listen to him, maybe by asking a question as he did with Eve: "Did God really say?" Then later comes a lie: "You will not surely die (Genesis 3:4)." Well, they did. Next, he will provide an opportunity for you to act on it. The goal is to hurt God by getting you into disobedience and causing God's judgment to fall on a child He loves. Even if you follow the liar's advice, he will turn on you and accuse you before God (Zechariah 3:1).

Don't listen to the liar, for God will come through for you. Please don't give up and turn back to your old life or end it. Learn to recognize the voice of the liar and mute him. When you have thoughts of failure, defeat, loneliness, depression, and such, you can be sure it's from The Liar. Push those thoughts aside and hang onto God one more day.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please strengthen me. Teach me to lean on You and never give up my hope. Touch my life with Your presence, and help me always see Your light through the darkness. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Note: "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.” James 5:13 ~ If you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network. If you are interested in joining the prayer team, here is how to get started Prayer Partners.