When the devil comes to you with his lies, don’t just stand there and take it. You don’t have to talk back to him. He is not your friend and you’re not required to be polite, but if you do talk back …
USE THE STRATEGY OF THE MASTER
“From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
“Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ‘Never, Lord!’ he said. ‘This shall never happen to you!’
“Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns’” (Matthew 16:21-23).
Satan used a person close to Jesus to whisper his lies, but Jesus knew the plan and knew the conditions. He knew well what had been prophesied from the beginning and exactly what He must do. Peter did not speak out of evil intent. In fact, he spoke out of love and loyalty to his Master. If Jesus had not known the plan and the promise, He might easily have been tempted to o’er leap the crucifixion.
KNOW YOUR WEAPON
Here’s an unpleasant reality: the enemy of our souls knows scripture. He can quote it. He was there when it was written, and he is not above using it or your good intentions to undo you. Knowing the Word and how to apply it can arm you to combat the lies the enemy whispers.
2 Timothy 2:15: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Hebrews 4:12: “The word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joint and marrow, and is the discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Armed with the sword of the spirit, let’s take a look at a few more of those lies the enemy whispers.
Lie #4 YOU ARE ALL ALONE
Ever find yourself in a terrible situation for which you were not responsible? Maybe you talked to a hundred people about it and they just don’t seem to understand. Or maybe it’s just way too personal and you don’t want to tell anyone. For whatever reason, you feel isolated and alone. It drains your energy; it drains your joy; it drains your relationships; it drains your effectiveness to perform even the smallest tasks with any kind of verve.
Here’s the story of someone else who felt desperately alone:
from 1 Kings 19
“Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword, so Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, ‘May the gods deal with me ever so severely if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like one of them.’
“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom tree and sat under it and prayed that he might die.
“‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life. I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.
“All at once, an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’
“He looked around and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
“The angel of the Lord came back a second time and said, ‘Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.’ So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by the food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night.
“Then the word of the Lord came to him: ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’”
What am I doing here???
Uhhhh … Elijah has faced off with the prophets of Baal, his life has been threatened, he is guilt-ridden that he has not been effective and that all his efforts were fruitless, he is afraid, and he wants to die.
Soooo … God gives him bread and water and sends him on a forty-day journey … on foot … he stops to spend the night … in a cave … and God comes in and asks, ‘What are you doing here?”
“Elijah replied (can you hear his frustration?), ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected Your covenant, broken down your altars, and put Your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.’”
Elijah was in a bad place, a dangerous place, and he was all alone–right? Just like you? We’ll revisit Elijah in a bit.
Lie #5 YOUR PAIN AND SUFFERING IS NEVER GOING TO END
Ever been there? Physical, mental, spiritual pain that seems to go on and on? In C. S. Lewis’s book The Screwtape Letters, a demon in hell is attempting to give advice to a demon on earth about how to possess the soul of a man. He explains:
“Humans belong to the eternal world, but as animals, they inhabit time. This means that while their spirit can be directed to an eternal object, their bodies, passions, and imaginations are in continual change. Their nearest approach to constancy, therefore, is undulation–the repeated return to a level from which they repeatedly fall back, a series of troughs and peaks.” The demon suggests, “Don’t let him suspect the law of undulation.”
This lie is a very devious double-edged sword. When one is at a very low point, the tendency is to believe that things will always be bad; they will never get better. At a very high point, things can go two ways. Either one may be careless, thinking all trouble is past and the mountaintop is forever, living a false security, or one may wonder if things can’t get any better than this, and in desperation ask, “Is this all there is to life?”
It is very easy to view current circumstances as a forever thing. What can one do?
Lie #6 IF YOU DON’T DO IT, SOMEONE ELSE WILL
Let’s face it, we’re all busy. Sometimes it’s hard to carve out time in a week to do the work God has called us to do. It’s easy to find excuses not to make that phone call or visit that hospital or write that letter. After all [here’s the lie], “If I don’t do it, someone else will.”
Several times I produced a drama by Lani Smith called It’s the Lord’s Thing. There’s a song in that drama that talks about being a “part-time Christian.” Here’s just one verse for your consideration:
“When your neighbor finds he’s been laid off his job, and his wife and kids become a starving mob, it’s much easier to turn on your heel and just say, ‘I’m a Christian on some days, but not today.’” This is one scenario, but you get the picture. Sometimes it’s easier to let someone else do the job.
Lazy Christians
In her article “Is Laziness a Sneaky Sin Christians Are Ignoring?” Emma Danzey states: “The truth is that anyone can be lazy. Each of us has a daily decision if we are going to be idle or active. Our kingdom work as believers is never-ending. Romans 12:11 says, ‘Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.’ When we are tempted to push aside the call of God in our lives to serve Him, we miss our blessing of being a part of His work.”
“If you don’t do it, someone else will,” is a lie the enemy whispers, and it is very convenient to believe that lie and to evolve into a lazy Christian.
THE REST OF THE STORY
If those are the lies, what is the truth?
#4 YOU ARE NEVER ALONE
Back to Elijah. Remember, he felt all alone and ready to die, but …
“The Lord told Elijah, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after that, a gentle whisper.”
Three times Elijah had told God, “I am the only one left to serve you, but he learned that he was never alone at all. God was always with him. Then he listened for the voice of God and heard Him say, “I have seven thousand left in Israel who have not bowed to Baal! That “being alone” was a lie!
You are never alone, either. “You have a friend that sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24), and that Friend promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6), and “I will be with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
#5 YOUR PAIN AND SUFFERING IS NOT FOREVER
Keep fighting the lies the enemy whispers with the trustworthy and true words of God, just like Jesus did:
“The righteous may have troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all” (Psalm 34:19).
“We glory in our suffering, because suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope; and hope does not fail us” (Romans 5:3-5).
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).
When the enemy whispers to you that your circumstances are forever, remind him that you know the Master of forever! Then speak the Master’s words!
#6 GOD’S PLAN FOR YOU IS HIS PLAN FOR YOU!
Don’t let the enemy steal your mission! Remember, God said, “I know the plans I have for you!”
In Psalm 23, we find the familiar image of the overflowing cup. God doesn’t give us an “overflow” just to show off. There is a purpose behind the abundance. When you overflow, not only do you become satisfied, but you can give. You can offer a drink, you can wash feet, you can water a seed–you can give out because you are full and running over! The requirement: You have to get your cup close to the source of all that abundance before it can fill and overflow.
Jesus promised, “whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:10).
Remember that you “are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for [you] to do” (Ephesians 2:10). Don’t let the enemy convince you that someone else can fulfill God’s plan for your life!
WHO’S YOUR DADDY?
The enemy loves to whisper lies because he is the father of lies, but when the Lord God Almighty is your father, your Abba, you have the truth! Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). Your victory over the lies the enemy whispers is achieved in your relationship with God. Stay close to your Daddy and conquer the lies the enemy whispers! You were made for freedom.
God bless you, and may you always walk in truth!
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