Scripture
People lie to one another; they flatter and deceive. May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that boasts!
Psalm 12:2-3
Reflection
There is no love in deception. God is not part of it, so that means the devil is all in it.
The first lie is the one we tell ourselves.
There are careers with a foundation built on the art of telling lies. In the process of negotiation some people tend to lean more on deception than transparency.
In relationships, some people are so greedy, self-centered, and self-absorbed that they will lie to gain or maintain leverage against the person they claim to respect and love. Our internal damage causes a domino effect of external damage. People we don’t even know become collateral damage.
People lie because we tell ourselves the biggest lie, “It’s not really hurting anyone”. People lie to hide truths we know that others would scoff at and walk away from. People lie to keep from being ‘real’. People lie because we want ‘it all’ and we are not satisfied or content being ‘full’ on what God provides us.
Because of lies, marriages and other relationships break up, families fall apart, and businesses fail. Because of lies, countries go to war, people are murdered, the innocent are attacked, and the world cries out in pain.
When will we end the madness that we create and perpetuate?
When will we be the true ambassadors of God so many of us claim to be? When will we stop trying to imitate other flawed men and women and begin to imitate the wayshower— Jesus Christ. He is the true global changer.
We will not be whole until we start living a wholesome life. We will not be free until we free ourselves from lies, deceit, greed, arrogance, selfishness, and self-centeredness. We can only be wholesome and free in God. Embraced by God. Which means we must surrender to Him. Let go of what you think, hear, see, and feel. Release it all to Him. He is Truth. He is the lie detector. He knows fact from fiction.
Only through Him can you see the cleverly manufactured smoke and mirrors designed by the enemy.
We will not stop feeling pain until we stop subjecting others to our own pain. We can only do that when we stop subjecting ourselves to pain. We keep wallowing in self-pity, fear, jealousy, envy, and regret.
We keep obsessing over the wrongs of the past instead of seeking to be what is right. Both now and in the future. We can’t change what happened in the past. We can make intentional steps to not repeat the past. We can tap into God for the vision to see the tricks and trappings of the enemy. We can use clarity and discernment to avoid those tricks and traps.
What we don’t realize is that through our lies and self-absorption we’re playing into the hands of the enemy.
Satan wants us to be in pain, feel defeated, be depressed, lie, betray, and steal. Satan wants us sick, diseased, and dying slow and painful deaths. It wants us to believe and embrace a false reality of sin, disease, and death. Satan wants us to cheat, divorce, break up, destroy our lives and our families. Satan wants us to believe that we’re alone, lost, and lacking.
It wants us to believe that God isn’t blessing us, that He’s punishing us.
It gets excited when you give into temptation. It almost reveals itself when it sees you giving in to that man, woman, or object that God has told You to steer clear of. It whispers to you in a way that convinces you it’s God’s voice. It tells you to answer that phone call, respond to that IM, text or email, accept the gift, open your door, knock on their door. You hear the voice that says, “What’s the big deal? You have self control. Nothing will happen. Go ahead, do it.” Then it laughs uncontrollably when you make the decisions that causes you and others the greatest of harm.
Satan can only enter when you let it in. You have to open yourself up and let it come inside. You have to invite it in your home, relationship, and business. Just like the vampires we love to watch on television and in movies. You think you’re being entertained by the actors. The writer of the story is trying to warn you. Satan is in plain sight. Your clarity and discernment just have clouded lenses.
We lack a sense of identity and we cling to anything and everything we think will define us. Sadly, the enemy is always within arms reach.
Satan knows your deepest desires and fears. It plays on it. Yet you do nothing to protect yourself. Your idle mind is its playground.
It is giddy when you yearn for the things God says “no” to. Because it will do everything to convince you that you can have what you desire and that what you desire is good for you, even though God says otherwise. Satan tells you that God just doesn’t want you to have and experience that which makes you more equal to God. Which is a blatant lie. Just like the lie told to Eve then Adam.
The ‘snake’ in the garden manifests itself in different forms.
God wants you to have and experience everything that places you in perfect alignment with Him. Satan will stop at nothing to prevent that.
Satan is thrilled when we are fighting and at war with each other. He craves the brutality and vileness, the name-calling, and victimization of others.
Satan takes great pleasure in our misery because if we’re miserable then we aren’t praising God. And he knows that at some point, someone will give to the pressure and begin to believe that God is not real. Because why would God allow bad things to happen to good people? And once you begin to embrace that thinking and belief system, you unknowingly begin to serve Satan. Which is exactly what it told God would happen.
We will not feel and receive true love until we give freely of our love to God. When we open ourselves to loving and being loved by God, we will begin to love ourselves. Only then can we truly love and be loved by others. Don’t confuse sex and intimacy with the richness and wholeness of love. Love is far more encompassing.
You can’t pour into others what you don’t possess. Open yourself up so God can pour into you and you can pay it forward.
Today, why not focus on telling, sharing, and being the truth. And doing so with and in love. Choose to not find comfort in being a liar. Choose to not use moments of truth telling to intentionally bring harm to others. Vileness is not God. Ask yourself if your words and actions serve God or satan.
Remember even little bitty white lies are still lies. They can grow into huge irreparable lies. All of which waters satan’s garden, not God’s.
Let today be your Focus Day. To focus on lovingly telling the truth and the whole truth to every person you encounter. Doing your part to bring us closer to God and farther away from the enemy’s grasp. Make it a great day!
Prayer
Father, fill me with Your truth and wisdom. That I might tell the truth even if it would hurt the feelings of another or cause my relationship with them to end. By telling one lie I must then cover up that lie with more—endlessly. Let my truth-telling be helpful, healing, and a step towards You.
Let me also see through those who would flatter me to crave their words more than Your Word. Let me ignore the boaster who is self-centered, that I may focus on being God-centered. Father keep me aware of those who would lie to me for selfish gains or just because they can.
Fill me with your love so I can lovingly walk away from those who would influence me to follow them and not you. Those who would casually lie to me and never regret one moment. And those who are not centered in Your wholeness. If it’s not for and about You, then I want no part of it.
I pray to be freed of unhealthy bonds. Humbly I ask this of You Father. Amen.
Lovingly,
Natasha
Copyright 2011-2020. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved.
All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman
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