Copy of “Did God really say…?”
Genesis 3:1
The enemy of our hearts, the enemy of God, has many names: Satan, the father of lies, the accuser, the great deceiver, the tempter, the rebel of truth. And most of his names describe his goals: to lie, to deceive, to trick, to lead us to doubt, to question truth. He accuses us, he tempts us, and he steals all that is good and right and pure. The enemy’s basic strategy has always been deception. It worked in the garden, and it works with us. He doesn’t need fancy words to entice and lure. He just needs a small punctuation mark that instills one thing: doubt!
“Did God really say that?” “Can God truly save you, love you, forgive you?” “Will anyone ever find you attractive, hire you, care about you?” “Are you smart enough, strong enough, secure enough?” The enemy slips his lies into our thoughts, and we make his job remarkably easy when we don’t know what is true. When we allow his deception to shape our thoughts, like Eve, we give in to his question mark. When we follow the trends of our culture and our world, rather than clinging to the truth of heaven, we give in to that question mark. And when we choose to appease those around us, rather than speaking out against the things that break God’s heart, we worship that question mark; and we may as well worship the lies and their father.
The fall of mankind began with one question. God’s enemy simply put a question mark where God had already placed a period! And he continues to use the very same strategy with us: get us to question God: His Word, His existence, and His goodness. If the enemy can shift our focus from all that God has done and all that He gives to all that He withholds and all that we think He should do, the liar and his little punctuation mark succeed.
The only way to keep from being a victim of the enemy’s tricks is to know the truth of God’s Word. There will be no room to focus your heart on doubt if you are focusing your heart on God—on all that He does and all that He loves. The only antidote to lies is truth. It is your weapon (Ephesians 6:17), it leads to true faith (Romans 10:17), it lights your path (Psalm 119:105), and it will stand forever (Isaiah 40:8). Read it...know it...believe it! No question marks necessary! You are loved!