The Power of Deception

 

The definition of the word deception according to Merriam Webster is:

-The act of making someone believe something that is not true: the act of deceiving someone or

- An act or statement intended to make people believe something that is not true

The first thing that came to mind when I read the word deception was the serpent (snake) in the Garden of Eden that deceived Eve by making her believe that if she ate from the tree of knowledge and good and evil, the tree that God told them not to eat from, that she would be like God knowing everything. Some of you may know the story and others may have not even heard it before but it’s in the book of Genesis 2:4-3:24.  It's crazy because after the devil deceives you and gets you to sin, he manipulates you. He makes you believe that because of your sin you should hide from God instead of running to Him. 

 For a long time I was deceived by the enemy. I was caught up in his web of lies and condemnation many times in my life. I used to believe his lies so much that no one could tell me otherwise. I was deceived, discouraged, and depressed. I lived in a repetitive cycle of sin and because of that I ran and hid from God just like Adam and Eve did in the garden after listening to the lies of the serpent, the devil.  The bible says that the devil is the father of lies and that there is no truth in him ~John 8:44. One thing I’ve learned is that when you know the TRUTH, Jesus, no one will be able to deceive you, not even yourself. The devil loves to make us believe the total opposite of what God wants us to believe. He will have you believing that God doesn't love you because he let your loved one die, he'll make you believe that you'll always be the same, that God will never want to use someone as messed up as you BUT those are all lies because In John 3:16 it says "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son..." God loves you and me so much that He was willing to give up His only son, Jesus a sinless man, as a sacrifice to die for our sins. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it says: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." you see when you gave your life to God He wipes your past away forever and you are a new person in Him, so that lie of you will always be the same is wrong according to God's word because the truth says that "old things have passed away; behold all things are have become new!" When the enemy tries to tell you that God will never be able to use you because you're too messed up that is a BIG FAT LIE! In the bible that's all God used was people that were a mess and had issues and problems because through them He was able to do the miraculous and bring glory to His name.


As I’ve read over the story again it reminded me of how the enemy is still a deceiver till this day and how he takes his lies and twists them up so good that it looks like the truth, and if we aren't careful enough we’ll fall right into his trap and start believing them. The enemy loves to lie to us! He deceives us by making our situations look worse than what they really are. He deceives us by making us believe that we are too broken for God to use. He deceives us by making us believe that we aren't good enough, he deceives us by making us believe that we are not strong enough, he deceives us by making us believe that we are not victorious, that we will always be defeated. He deceives us by making us believe that we aren't eligible, that we are unqualified to do what God has called us to do, etc... Don’t be deceived by him any longer!

Now that we know what the definition of deception is and how the enemy uses it against us to cripple our faith, and discourage us we can fight back with the truth, The WORD of God! That is why the enemy fights us so hard when we are about to spend time in the bible because he knows that if we open it and read those truths we will disarm him and he won’t be a threat to us anymore. It's time we start fighting back with the word of God! The bible says in James 4:7 to "Submit to God, resist the devil and he shall flee!" When we submit to God we are under His protection; so when the devil tries to come after us God will shield us.

Don't be deceived any longer by the lies of the enemy; get in the Word of God and start remembering the truth so that when the devil tries to come at you with a lie you'll be able to shut him down with the TRUTH!  

*Remember as long as you submit to God He will have your back! ;)

Stay encouraged ya'll and have a blessed day! :)

Joy J. <3