God Let Me Down - Here’s What I’m Going To Do About It

What do you do when God doesn’t show up the way you expected Him to?

I know someone who was once a strong believer. Or at least it seemed that way. Honestly, I think he never really experienced the Holy Spirit. He knew the Bible, but maybe he didn’t really know God. And in his mind, God didn’t meet his expectations.

Now don’t judge him. This is the majority on the wide road that Christ spoke of when He said:

“Enter through the narrow gate. The gate is wide and the road is wide that leads to hell, and many people enter through that gate. But the gate is small and the road is narrow that leads to true life. Only a few people find that road” (Matthew 7:13-14, NCV).

He began to listen to other voices. YouTube videos about near-death experiences. Opinions from people who sounded spiritual but weren’t anchored in Scripture. His own reasoning that felt right but wasn’t truth.

Slowly, belief by belief, his faith shifted until what he holds onto now looks nothing like what he once knew was true.

This is not a new story at all. In Exodus 32, the author tells us what happened when Moses was on the mountain with God for forty days.

The people saw that a long time had passed and Moses had not come down from the mountain. So they gathered around Aaron and said, “Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him. Make us gods who will lead us” (Exodus 32:1, NCV).

Aaron melted down their gold and fashioned a calf. Then the people said, “Israel, these are your gods who brought you out of Egypt!” (Exodus 32:4, NCV).

Notice they didn’t say, “Let’s worship a new god.” They credited the calf with what the real God had already done.

This wasn’t atheism. This was misdirected worship. They redesigned their god. They wanted a god they could see, control, and predict. They traded mystery for manageability.

My friend did the same thing. He didn’t stop believing in something spiritual. He just redesigned what that spiritual thing looked like to fit his disappointment.

Jesus warned about this: “These people show honor to me with words, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is worthless. The things they teach are nothing but human rules” (Matthew 15:8-9, NCV).

It’s possible to use spiritual language and miss God completely.

There’s an old saying: Two wolves live inside you. One is truth. One is deception. Which one wins? The one you feed.

My friend started feeding the wrong wolf. Not with bad intentions, but with subtle choices. A YouTube video here. A podcast there. Voices that sounded wise but weren’t anchored in Scripture.

“Some people think they are doing right, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12, NCV).

He thought he was seeking truth. But he was feeding doubt. And whatever you feed grows stronger.

“The time will come when people will not listen to the true teaching but will find many more teachers who please them by saying the things they want to hear. They will stop listening to the truth and will begin to follow false stories” (2 Timothy 4:3-4, NCV).

He didn’t wake up one day and decide to abandon truth. He just started preferring voices that made him feel better about his disappointment. Little by little, those voices became louder than Scripture.

But here’s the bigger issue. Look at Exodus 32:6. Israel started with offerings to honor the LORD. They ended with sexual sin and chaos.

The calf wasn’t the destination. It was the door.

When you redesign God to fit your expectations, you don’t just lose truth. You lose boundaries. You lose direction. And you lose your soul for eternity. That’s a very big deal. I mean, what’s the harm in following Christ?

My friend’s new beliefs? They’re a calf. They look spiritual. They sound profound. But they’re not anchored in the God who is actually there. They’re anchored in the god he wishes was there.

“So, dear children, keep yourselves away from false gods” (1 John 5:21, NCV).

Here’s the truth: It’s not too late.“Come near to God, and God will come near to you” (James 4:8, NCV).

Just stop feeding the wrong wolf. Stop listening to voices that contradict Scripture. Stop building calves that make you feel better but can’t save your soul.Start feeding truth again.

Read the Word. Not opinions about the Word. The actual Word. Pray to the God who is actually there, not the one you wish existed.

“But test everything. Keep what is good, and stay away from everything that is evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, NCV). If it contradicts Scripture, it’s not from God. Period.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me” (John 14:6, NCV).

Now before you say “I would never do that,” the question is: Do you and I really “do” what Christ says?

Jesus said it this way:

“Not all those who say that I am their Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. The only people who will enter the kingdom of heaven are those who do what my Father in heaven wants. On the last day many people will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, we spoke for you, and through you we forced out demons and did many miracles.’ Then I will tell them clearly, ‘Get away from me, you who do evil. I never knew you’” (Matthew 7:21-23, NCV).

I don’t know why, but many feel God needs to serve us - not the other way around. And when we don’t get what we want - we redesign.

For me? Christ is my Lord and Savior. I love the saving part. The Lord part? That requires a love and gratitude that He paid for my sins - while I was a sinner. He loved me, when I didn’t love Him. Now, I want to follow and share Him with others. So I’ll keep asking the Holy Spirit to open my friends eyes and ears to the real truth.

He and I actually live the same life - the difference is that I call Christ my Lord and Savior. What’s the harm in submitting to Christ?

LORD, protect me from the wrong voices. There are plenty of people that say the Bible and even You are not real. Help them vet it all properly and truly look at creation and other evidences that scream truth. And help me not to judge, but simply share and love. Holy Spirit, help my friend who doubts, and anyone reading this. IJNIP amen ♥️