Who told you that you were stupid, ugly, and worthless? Who told you that you would never amount to anything? Who told you not to bother trying because you will never get there, or that your ideas are not good enough, or that you don’t have what it takes? Who told you God will never use you, or you can’t change, beat addiction, lose weight, get healthy, find a spouse, have a good marriage, or be a good parent? Who told you that you were naked? (1 Gen. 3:11). Eve listened to the enemy. She spent time entertaining his reasoning. His thoughts became her thoughts, and then she acted on them in belief. She trusted what Satan had told her over against the only command that God had issued to her and Adam. When God made Adam and Eve, they were naked and unashamed; he called his creation very good (Gen. 1:31; 3:25). He gave one command: to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17).
God already knew that Adam and Eve had disobeyed, but he questioned Eve, “What is this you have done?” She shifted the focus from herself to Satan, “the serpent deceived me, and I ate.” The intent of Satan toward man has been clear from the beginning. He seeks to destroy by any means possible, and deception is one of his main tactics. He intends to present a falsehood that you will adopt as truth. As simple as it sounds and as easily identifiable as this tactic is, we still tend to miss it. A couple of reasons for this are because of emotions and shortsightedness. In the moment, Eve allowed her desire for something she was told she did not have to overwhelm her to the point of shifting her thinking away from the admonition of God. We do not know precisely what Eve’s thought process was, but perhaps she felt she was missing out; God was keeping something good from her. Her shortsightedness caused her to entertain thoughts of disobedience and ultimately to act on them in the promise that she would be satisfied with what God was keeping from her. These are more superficial reasons that affect believers today, but let’s dive deeper into the root cause of a faulty belief system.
Distrust in God is the basis for believing the lies of the enemy. How can we counteract the attacks of the enemy on our minds? When we trust God by trusting what his word says about who he is and who he made us to be, then the lies of Satan become laughable. You have heard of tall tales when someone tells a story that is so outlandish that no one would believe it. It’s generally so ridiculous it may cause an eruption of laughter. These tall tales happen to be Satan’s greatest weapon. For instance, you may have been anticipating a response about a job promotion. You have been praying and waiting in the hope of moving to the next level, only to find out you did not get the job. Satan moves in immediately and begins to whisper in your ear. If he goes unchecked, then the barrage of shame-yourself rhetoric continues. He wants to get you focused on yourself. He wants to overwhelm you with feelings of inadequacy and defeat. He wants to deceive you to bring you into shame. If Satan can get you to entertain thoughts that cripple you, he begins to have leverage in your life.
What is deception? It is causing someone to believe and even act on information that is not true. It shows someone an altered truth and presents it as the real thing. This is the very tactic the serpent used on Eve to bring her and Adam into shame. Shame carries a sense of guilt, the kind that makes you cover your nakedness with fig leaves and hide from God. Adam and Eve’s sin alienated them from God. Their shame caused them to desire distance from God. Suppose Satan can penetrate your mind and get you to come into agreement with his faulty narrative. In that case, he knows this will alienate you from God because it has been successful for him in the past. When we allow Satan’s entrance to our minds to wreak havoc in the form of self-loathing thoughts, we reveal our distrust in God.
Let’s look at a few strategies to combat the cunning devices of the serpent.
1). Get in the word. Read it daily. It may be helpful to write down the scriptures that remind you of God’s love and purpose for you (I’ve listed a few below). The enemy loves to fill a void space. Just as wounded animals become surrounded by opportunists, he lies in wait to devour us if he can. If you do not find your identity in scripture, he will inform you of who you are according to his lies and deceit. Reading the word will help you identify the voice of God over Satan. If you have difficulty deciphering the origin of your thoughts, use these guidelines. God does not speak negatively over us to get us motivated to be more like Christ. God’s nature is pure. His intentions for you are pure. Therefore, his words bring life, healing, and health (Prov. 4:20-22). Satan leads people into captivity, and Jesus sets people free.
· Jesus Christ has paid for all my sins, and I am forgiven. My past is remembered no more. My conscience is clean by his blood. (Hebrews 9:14).
· God loves me with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).
· I am a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
· We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works (Ephesians 2:10).
· My union with Christ has made me complete (Colossians 2:10).
· As children of God, we are heirs and joint heirs with Christ, sharing in his sufferings and glory (Romans 8:17).
2.) Get Bold. Be bold in speaking against the enemies’ attacks in your life or even in the lives of those around you. Do not allow Satan to push you around. Do not give him authority to speak into your life. Speak the truth of God’s word as your defense and cling to it. In 2 Cor. 10:5, Paul wrote to bring every thought captive to Christ. Whether it’s a barrage of negative thoughts that go against the nature of God or just the occasional rogue thought, bring them into submission to Christ. We can be sure that God does not change, nor does he have the mentality toward you of a middle school friendship where he’s for you today and against you tomorrow.
3.) Know the difference between conviction and condemnation. Conviction causes us to examine our behaviors and make necessary changes so that nothing stands between us and God. Condemnation seeks to cause shame that separates us from God. It often comes as an obsessive or unhealthy focus on wrongdoing or shortcomings. Again, it focuses on us and causes one to carry burdens for which Jesus has already paid the price. So many wake up every day, and though they believe in Jesus, they do not live in the freedom that Jesus so dearly paid for with his life.
Some are going to struggle with Satan’s attack on their minds more than others. For instance, those of you who may have experienced emotional or verbal abuse in a relationship. You may be more vulnerable to the enemy because you have been trained to find little value in yourself. In my formative years, I experienced this type of abuse from a parent, and I then later faced the difficulty of deciphering the difference in how God thinks of me and relates to me. I am happy to report that nothing is too hard for God. He can heal the broken places, yes, the fragile mind. Who he says we are trumps all others; he is the final authority. That’s why being vigilant over one’s thought life is imperative to live a life of peace and victory. It is a proactive operation requiring one to identify and appropriate their thoughts according to 2 Cor. 10:5 and follow up with Phil. 4:8 that instructs us what we are to meditate on- whatsoever is just, pure, lovely, of a good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy- meditate on these things.
Heavenly Father, thank you for being such a loving father. Thank you for giving us your word, which speaks to your nature and is evidence of your good character. We rejoice in the joy you have over each one of us. I ask that the Holy Spirit teach us to harness our thought lives so that what we think of you and ourselves will not hinder the work you want to accomplish in and around us. Lord, give us discernment in identifying the enemy’s tactics and the boldness to put him under our feet. I pray for healing and strength for those whose minds have been through the war zone of abusive relationships. Lord, we know that all things are possible through you, so we trust you to embolden us to do the work of fortifying our minds so that we may be victorious over the enemy.