Did God Really Say?
Written By: Paige Wassel
My phone had barely started ringing before the call was blocked, my call filter noting “Potential Spam.” A few seconds later, a voicemail from a cheerful, somewhat electronic voice promised to help me settle back taxes owed, as long as I called them back quickly.
It was clear the message was a scam, one of many perpetrated today by those trying to convince people to send them money or personal information. Known as “imposter scams,” these callers impersonate someone or something the victim knows to gain their trust. Such schemes have become so commonplace that we’re constantly on the lookout for similar bad actors, suspicious of emails, phone calls, texts, and ads that promise get-rich-quick solutions or prey on our worst fears about our health, family, and finances. We train ourselves to question the source of information and look for the truth so that we don’t fall victim to the scam.
I wonder, are we just as vigilant in spotting the lies the enemy tells that are designed to make us question our faith?
The devil is the ultimate imposter, feeding us messages that have the appearance of truth. His end goal is to get us to doubt God’s character and what God says about us so that it weakens our relationship with him. Beginning in the garden of Eden, we see his tactics on display as the serpent asks Eve about God’s instructions not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, saying, “‘Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1, emphasis mine). His words were meant to distract and confuse Eve, getting her to question what God had told her. The enemy knows if he can get us to question God’s goodness and faithfulness, we soon doubt how much we trust God, and our relationship with him suffers.
So, how do we silence the lies Satan whispers that make us feel unqualified to follow through on what God wants us to do? Scripture reveals we must wage a battle in our minds, taking inventory of our thoughts and identifying any lies we believe that run counter to the truth Jesus has revealed. Just as with imposter scams, we must seek out the truth to combat the lie.
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 10:5
Our church has assembled a helpful resource to aid in this mental warfare called “Lies vs. Truth,” that offers examples of lies we believe, combatting them with Jesus’ truth rooted in Scripture. Download the guide here.
Staying engaged in spiritual rhythms such as reading God’s word, spending time in prayer and worship, gathering with other believers, and serving others helps to remind us of who God is, growing our trust in him until the lies we hear can’t overcome HIS truth.