God Concept (Part Two) - Confusion & Disillusionment
Identifying and overcoming blockages to seeing God rightly.
If we never lose awe and wonder for the majesty of all God has revealed Himself to be, we have the keys to enjoying our spiritual existence.
In God Concept Part One (click to read), we talked about why awareness of our perception of God is important. There is too much at stake. It is too easy to become disillusioned with God, even if we don’t consciously realize it yet. So, when our God concept becomes polluted, we end up worshipping something else in return because disillusionment and disappointment breeds sin in the form of idolatry. Much of what we discuss on here is connected to man’s idolatry in the earth and how it has shaped cultures over time… thus the name Spiritual Anthropology! ;)
Let’s get dig deep into some things that often block us from viewing God the way He wants to be viewed. While contemplating any of these scriptures used below, I encourage you to notice how you interact with what you are reading….
Don’t be afraid to ask yourself:
What really goes through my mind when I read this?
When is it easiest for me to be in agreement with this verse? (IE have it click, resonate with you personally, “know that I know” that it is true)
When does my soul push back when I read this statement?
In what ways do I feel disconnected with what the Bible is saying here?
I find that when I interact with the Word and ask myself questions like this, it helps me get to the bottom of where I really am and why that is. It helps close gaps between me and the Lord.
In no order, here are some things that cause gaps in our understanding and how we can begin to close them…
1. God is Infinite, but We are Finite.
This makes fully understanding God kind of difficult, doesn’t it? He is limitless, far beyond anything we can comprehend. It is a strange and wonderful thing at the same time.
Yet, this glorious and sovereign God has made a way to make Himself known to us through channels that we can receive. When we become born again, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us so that we can be one with Him. He made a way so that somehow, our spirits can know Him even though our human minds can’t understand His limitless.
Why this Matters:
It is mind blowing to think about. Really! We can either become frustrated and maybe even freaked out that we can never fully understand God. Or we can live in awe. And that awe is the kind of fear that He wants us to have for Him - wonder. That is the mystery of our union with Him. If we never lose awe and wonder for the majesty of all God has revealed Himself to be, we have the keys to enjoying this our spiritual existence on earth.
SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV)
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
”For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.”
2. The Presence of Good and Evil, and Disillusionment in Life.
This is a big one! A cloudy God concept is often influenced by our undesired circumstances - wondering if God will really come through, wondering why things happen, being burdened by the things of this world.
Good news, you do not have to constantly feel like God is good and wants the best for you. You can actually choose to believe it regardless of how you feel and keep that as knowledge in your brain, despite your challenges in life. Our feelings do not change who God is!
You may have heard before that we are to walk by faith and not by sight. If that’s hard for you, good news - it’s supposed to be! And better news is that God wants to supply the supernatural grace to keep going and overcome. He loves to give peace that defies logic. He can and will reward you for pressing into Him during your trials. The measure of trouble you experience, He supersedes it with sharing His divine goodness. Even if it takes a while, He always breaks through.
Why this matters:
Evil forces are at work getting God’s people to doubt His goodness and downplay the power of the enemy. Satan is in the business of deception. He wants Christians to stop trusting God when things go wrong. It jeopardizes our relationship with Him.
Would you trust someone you aren’t sure means well for you? Honestly, I wouldn’t.
But if we think this way about God, it is going to ruin our lives.
We cannot afford to be run by our feelings, that includes complacency and jadedness. I have been there time and time again - I can attest that it has debilitated me and deceived me into thinking that God’s plans for me actually aren’t that great. This leads to self-sabotage and chaos. I’m so glad I realized I was wrong. And my friend, if you are thinking that way too, please let the Lord prove you wrong.
SCRIPTURE:
1 Peter 5:8-11 (NKJV)
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 6:10-12 (NKJV)
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Isaiah 26:3-4 (NKJV)
You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Trust in the Lord forever,
For in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength.
Psalm 27:13-14
I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!
3. The Words of Others - Good, Bad and in Between.
Sometimes the disillusionments connected to our God concept are rooted in certain relationships, or even just words we hear from different platforms- whether we have a personal connection to the speaker or not. If we aren’t guarded against untruths, we project these things onto God. Depending on the weight of the words and tone of others are synonymous with how the Holy Spirit would be relating to you. This often happens subconsciously, especially with parents/family members, pastors/ministry leaders, and significant others.
Some examples include but are not limited to:
Factually (usually partially) truthful things that are said in a manipulative spirit
IE: “The word says that God won’t bless your vision (hopes, dreams, etc) if you don’t serve under someone else’s vision first”
I heard this from a lead pastor trying to get more people to join teams and serve, misusing Luke 16’s parable of the shrewd manager which includes verse 10, '“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much”. Of course, this verse is true - BUT you don’t need God to “bless your vision”…if you are living to please Him, He will give you HIS vision for your life. His blessing is already on it when it comes from Him and not your own will.
When leaders twist Scripture to motivate people into service, it can distort our concept of God. It risks painting Him as transactional—someone who only blesses us if we prove ourselves useful. But the gospel reveals a Father who delights in His children, who calls us into partnership not for what He can get out of us, but for what He wants to pour into us.
Subjective statements presented as truth
IE: “You’re not a real Christian if you read the Bible on an app and not an actual Bible.”
I heard this one at a conference with hundreds of people in attendance. I don’t know if it was supposed to be funny, but there is nothing funny about questioning someone’s salvation just because you personally don’t like a digitized version of the Bible. The Word of God is living and active whether it’s on paper or on a screen.
When leaders make careless statements from a platform, they risk shaping people’s God concept in damaging ways. Remarks like this can inflict a spirit of religion—one that persecutes freedom of expression and individuality—by suggesting that God’s acceptance hinges on external performance rather than the heart.
If God entrusts you with influence over His sheep, be mindful: your words carry weight. They should point people to Christ, not to man-made rules.
Positive and uplifting sentiments which are not grounded in scriptural truth
IE: “God will never give you more than you can handle.”
I understand where this train of thought is coming from! We like to comfort people because we know that God is indeed gracious in hard times…but there are circumstances that truly do seem to be more than we can bare.
This token phrase is often misquoted from 1 Corinthians 10:13, which is about temptation, not suffering. In reality, life can overwhelm us—but God promises His presence and strength, not that circumstances will always be manageable on our own. They key is that going to God in all things will sustain us through what could have destroyed us.
People speak things that aren’t true-either distorting truth or just spewing foolishness- and if we let them have influence, we internalize it and becomes a misbelief.
Why this matters:
The Lord wants to revive your senses to receive His messages to you. He doesn’t want us to miss His heart. There is spiritual muckiness that He wants to cleanse from our ears, things that have been there for a long time -the careless words that are not true about who you are, not true about theology. Regarding sugar coating of the Word done by others…sometimes our God concept needs to be refined by learning hard truths that go against what we would like to believe.
Let’s forgive everyone who is responsible for words that have painted our God image incorrectly and let us think critically about the information we consume.
SCRIPTURE:
1 John 2:26-27 (NKJV)
These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
4. Reading Confusing Scripture
This one is a doozy! I will get more into hermeneutics and how it shapes our worldview in future posts. I am intentionally keeping this section short because there is too much to get into here. And that genuinely thrills me.
Deciphering confusing scripture…We have all been there! Firstly, we will probably always have those passages that we can’t seem to figure out. You wonder, why is this in the Bible? It is actually a good thing to not have it all figured out, because God is too big to figure out!
Why this matters:
Having our God concept clouded by confusing passages in the Bible is significant because it is an invitation. It is actually a door to get closer to the Lord in the middle of the mystery. God welcomes wrestling with Him. He loves it because that is how we get honest and vulnerable with Him and take time to actually hear Him instead of cruising by on what we think we already know!
God can do a lot when we are honest and vulnerable enough to say I don’t know, God. And it’s better to admit such things than make assumptions and create our own doctrines from a place of being uncomfortable with what we don’t know. That is what much of religion has done!
SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, and it is a celebration of God’s Word as the source of life, wisdom, and intimacy with Him! It’s an acrostic poem—each of its 22 sections corresponds to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, with 8 verses per section. This design shows intentional artistry, symbolizing the completeness of God’s Word (from “A to Z”).
The term here translated as “law” is Torah, which literally means “instruction” or “teaching.” Torah includes God’s commands, but also His guidance, wisdom, and covenant promises. It’s the whole revealed will of God for His people. The psalmist rotates words like law, testimonies, statutes, commandments, precepts, word, ordinances—all pointing to different facets of God’s revealed truth. For the psalmist, “law” is not a cold code of regulations. It’s God’s personal instruction that leads to life, joy, and intimacy with Him. Here are some verses expressing that:
Psalm 119:18, 33-34, 105
18Open my eyes, that I may see
Wondrous things from Your law.
33Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall keep it to the end.
34Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law;
Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
105Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
5. Considering philosophies from other sources.
We live in a world where there are things which look and sound like God but are not God. And I would say this is becoming more true as time goes on. That might sound scary and weird, but if you are along for the Spiritual Anthro ride this is a part of my mission!
STAY TUNED for more posts on this in the future because boy have I inquired of this!
Why this matters:
We need discernment! Not to open the can of end-time worms but the Bible does say that in the end even some Christians will be deceived by the antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2, 1 Timothy 4:1). How can we possible prepare for that and hopefully avoid as many people as possible falling under deception? Consider similar patterns that have played out in the past and stay vigilant here in the present.
The letters in the New Testament address wide-spread deception that the churches were falling under. The church at Colossae was led by false teaching into syncretism - a blending of legalism, a proto-Gnosticism (hidden knowledge is the key to salvation), pagan practices and diminishing the supremacy of Christ.
The church at Colossae was beautifully diverse—made up of Jews, Greeks, and Phrygians—which showed how far the gospel had reached across cultures. But that mix of their original philosophies- legalism, philosophy, and mysticism blended into a “Christ-plus” message. Paul wrote to remind them that Christ alone is sufficient, urging them not to be taken captive by human traditions but to rest in the fullness of Jesus.
Let us ask ourselves: how is this happening in today’s world? I invite you look around with spiritual eyes and discern. By the way, this is yet another topic I am eager to dive into here!
SCRIPTURE:
I highly recommend reading Colossians as well as 1st and 2nd Thessalonians! This theme is addressed head on.
Colossians 2:8-9
Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
1 Thessalonians 5:6-10
Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
1 Timothy 4:1-3
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
6. Relating to the Persons of the Godhead differently.
This one might seem a little strange, but please bear with me! Between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit we don’t always understand each one or know how to relate to them.
They are all equally God. But I think a lot of us relate to the Persons unequally depending on our life experience. For example, if you don’t have a good relationship with your earthly father, God the father might seem distant to you while Jesus as a friend seems more comfortable. Jesus as the bridegroom may be hard to connect to as a divorced woman whose husband failed her. Likewise, the Holy Spirit is often misunderstood. A ghost, a force, an energy are all misunderstood concepts of Him-and He is a HIM… many refer to the Holy Spirit as “it”!
You are not alone if you are wondering how to deepen the connection with Him.
MORE posts on the Holy Spirit to come (relationship with Him, the fruits of the spirit, the gifts of the spirit…)
Why it matters:
Again, there are MANY different schools of thought floating around out there. Different theologies on the roles and characteristics of the members of the Trinity, and specifically the divinity/humanity of Jesus Christ. For the purpose of this article, I will not get into it in depth, but we can be sure that adopting beliefs without thinking critically about them can lead deficiencies in our view of the Lord.
The topic of the Trinity is beautifully complex - and too difficult to fully comprehend. However, God made sure to give us some indicators of who He is and how He operates in relation to us. We can actually enjoy the mystery of not fully knowing all the answers yet knowing Him personally anyway. To know Him is to love Him.
SCRIPTURE:
John 14:7-11 (NKJV) What if we imagine a smile on Jesus’ face during this interaction?
“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”
Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
Remember…
That it is a daily walk, and God uses the chronological time passing by to continue to break strongholds and roll out greater understanding as we mature in Him. Good things are ahead in your relationship with the Lord!
Thanks for coming a long on this journey with me. I hope this article blessed you and helped in some way. Always remember, God does not want us to live in confusion, He wants us to receive revelation about who He is so we can enjoy our union with Him!
If you long to go deeper in your relationship with the Lord,