Have you ever been sitting, minding your own business when a lie creeps into your head?
It is so subtle. It makes sense. It could be true. Then, another one comes. And another. Pretty soon, you’re swarmed by these lies, and you can’t even remember how you got there. You start to look down, because you start to think that maybe they could be true.
This is what the enemy does. He creeps into your mind and knows exactly what to do to make you question the truth.
But here is a truth for you: they are just lies.
You are not who the enemy says you are. You are who the Lord says you are! It is so important to learn to recognize these lies for what they are. Recognizing these lies and games takes practice and discipline. As soon as one creeps into your mind, you have to immediately tell yourself that it is a lie, and then you have to believe that it is a lie.
The enemy has played mind games from the very beginning. Let’s go back to Adam and Eve. Eve did not just decide at random to eat from the one tree she was told not to eat from. God had specifically told Adam and Eve that they could eat from any tree in the garden, but they must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. When the serpent approaches Eve, his mind games begin.
“Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). He immediately tried to get her to question what God had explicitly said.
When she counters him, we see him try again. “’No! You will not die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’” (Genesis 3:4).
First, the enemy tried to get Eve to question what God had said. Then, he tried to tell her that God had given her false information. The tree did, in fact, look good. So, she took some fruit and ate it. She then gave some to Adam. They had been manipulated by the enemy into taking the forbidden fruit.
It is so easy to look back and wonder why Eve took a bite from the apple. God’s Word was clear that they should not eat the fruit of only this one tree.
But that is how the enemy works. We have God’s Word readily available to us, but sometimes the enemy plays games with our minds and will try anything to get us to sin or to feel down. When you start to feel like the enemy is trying to sneak in, make sure to keep your focus only on things above. Pray without ceasing. Spend time in God’s Word. Seek council in fellow believers. Keep your mind, your eyes, and your heart on the Lord, because He is always there for you and is always with you.