Beloved,
The devil is a liar. It’s true. But you must know that to the believer, he is a deceiver. He cannot con you out rightly with his lies because he knows you know the Father of truth. But if you give him the chance, he will feed you with just enough distorted information to cause you fall into the dangerous trap of deception. In todays devotional, we take a look at what the word of God provides us to help us guard our hearts and lives against deception.
The Message translation of 1 Corinthians 3:16-18 says this:
Don’t fool yourself. Don’t think that you can be wise merely by being relevant. Be God’s fool—that’s the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid.
1 Corinthians 3:16-18, MSG
If you recall from our previous devotionals, self-deception happens whenever we justify living our lives and making decisions outside of God’s will and His word. It is very easy and possible for any believer to fall into this trap. All it takes is for one not to take God’s will and word as the final authority.
Now I do not know any self-proclaimed, serious Christian who won’t declare that God’s word is the final say. However, what happens is that a time comes when the cares and affairs of this life become louder than the presence of God in our lives. As much as God is everywhere always, He has give us free will. If we want His will and word to override our feelings and understanding, and the cares of this life, then we must create space for Him.
Recently, I asked my members to compare how much time they spend watching movies versus the time spent in the place of prayer. Of course, there is nothing wrong with watching movies, but if you expect God Almighty to contend with you to get you away from your television binge watching and get some time with you, you are deceiving yourself.
The major way to guard against any form of deception in your life is to have the truth front and center. Make it your priority to spend time with the truth and in truth. Make it your habit to live according to the truth. Meditate on it day and night. No excuses. Doing the aforementioned safeguards you against wrong thoughts and intentions. In fact, a tried and true lifestyle that is rooted and anchored in the word of God will help you to see better, discern well, and cast out every form of doubt, anxiety and fear that is hidden in your heart.
The devil cannot deceive you into thinking you need what you don’t need if you know God’s provision for you and are making conscious decisions to wait and worship for it. The devil can’t deceive you into thinking you are who you are not if you know what God has already said about you and are secure with your identity being in Christ Jesus. If you habitually practice depending on God for things, you can’t deceive yourself into thinking you can live by bread alone or solve every critical problem you are faced with by yourself.
Make a decision to put structure in place to guard against deception.
I commend you to God and to the word of His grace.
I call you blessed. I call you NATIONS.
