Who Told You That?

Once, a young woman came into my office for marriage counseling. After telling me how bad things were, she finally told me why she was really there: she was leaving her husband, and said God wanted her to do it.

I asked why, and through tear-filled eyes, she replied, “Because God doesn’t want me to have pain.” As quickly as I could, I retorted, “Who told you that?”

It was a good question because I’ll tell you who didn’t, and His name starts with a capital “J” and ends in “esus.”  When we believe something that’s not true, God will challenge us by asking, “Who told you that?”

Set the clock back to the Garden of Eden. There we find two slack-jawed people with a problem. Like many young couples, they had gotten themselves into debt without a mode of payment. This was not about a credit card. This was about giving the Master charge over their lives, and the penalty for disobedience was higher than either of them could have imagined.

Genesis records the event as the greatest act of murder committed in human history: with one stroke of disobedience, Adam brought us to death before we took our first breath. No sooner was the deed done than Adam and Eve were hiding, because Daddy was going to be home soon.

Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked?” – Genesis 3:9-11

When God asks a question, it’s not because He lacks the answer. He asks with the intent of bringing us to a conclusion. In Adams’s case, as with the young lady in my office wanting a divorce, this question is, “Who told you that? Who are you listening to?”

When we’re forced to answer, we generally recognize the answer is “not God.” Until God forced Adam to own the answer, Adam’s healing would not begin. Do you want your healing to begin?