THREAD: The devil is a liar who only has as much power as you give him. So why is it that we find it so so hard to let go of these lies and just trust God wholeheartedly? Let’s talk.

Firstly, let’s look at the story of Adam & Eve. The devil came

1. IN FORM of a serpent
2. Approached Eve KNOWING God had spoken directly to ADAM
3. Made her DOUBT HERSELF
4. TWISTED the truth

Ref: Genesis 2:4-3:24

1. Coming in form of a serpent - familiarity

The serpent would’ve been familiar to Eve, given that Adam had named all of the animals so it wasn’t just a random new creature. If the devil had come as himself, she would not have felt as comfortable conversing with him.

2. Approaching Eve knowing that God had spoken directly to Adam

The devil went to Eve knowing that Adam wouldn’t doubt what he’d heard directly from the Source no matter what he would say. With Eve, she would’ve known through Adam & that could leave space for doubt if poked at.

3. Making Eve doubt herself

Firstly, Eve already had wisdom because she had God. God IS wisdom & she was made in His image. The devil made her doubt her identity - “God knows if you eat you will be like God” and added “knowing good & evil” just to make it more credible.

4. Twisting the truth

God had told Adam that if they ate from the tree of ‘knowledge of good & evil’, they would die. They had the possibility of eternal life, they just had to take it. The devil told Eve “you will not die” referring to their human bodies dying straight away.

Now please note that the devil lacks originality and he also is very lazy. There is a pattern, one that he still uses till this very day. Lies & manipulation in the EXACT same way, but in different contexts each time

1. Familiarity.

How many times have we heard people we know say negative stuff about us, things that hurt, accuse us, label us with certain terms (even if it’s a joke)? The devil uses familiarity. Before they ate the fruit, all it took was 1 lie. Now the lies are repeated.

We constantly hear certain words thrown so quickly by people we know or want to know.

“Liar” “ugly” “useless” “annoying” “stupid” “crazy”

2. Approaching you when you aren’t yet aware of your identity in Christ

Up until the moment you were saved, you would’ve heard all of these lies, and because you knew no better, you would’ve just believed them. It’s who you are. “That’s just how I am, it’s my personality lol”

“I get irritated easily” “I’m mad” “I’m a crazy girlfriend” “I know I’m not a liar but no one believes me anyway so I might as well” “I’m not smart” “I don’t think I’m good enough” “who would even care if I disappeared”

3. Making you doubt yourself

Both before and after salvation, you’ve been fed lies. Some of the lies have even been glamourised by society which makes you doubt who you actually are and your capabilities, the authority God has given you. You don’t believe in yourself.

You don’t believe you can succeed, you don’t believe God TRULY loves you, you don’t believe salvation is as simple as believing, you don’t even know if you’re going to heaven or hell because you’re convinced you’re still a sinner, you don’t believe when God affirms who you are.

God could tell you “I love you, you’re so beautiful, you are strong, you’re saved, you’re Mine, you’re not guilty, you’re not a sinner anymore, you’re not a ‘whore’, I see your pain” & because of all the lies you’ve been hearing & continue to hear, you’re saying “but that’s cap”

You’ve heard it so many times that you’re thinking “maybe I am all of these things” and then maybe disappears and you’re saying “it’s me, I’m not perfect, I never will be and that’s okay, I can live with that”

4. Twisting the truth

God says you are already loved (1 John 4:19) but the devil’s lies have you thinking “don’t I have to work to get that love, I know I don’t deserve it and no one else would do this for me so why would God? There has to be a trap somewhere”

The devil twists what God tells you & makes you believe God has missed bits out or that God has made a mistake. He would much rather you believe that God is ignoring you when actually God hears every single sincere prayer. He will have you believe God is far away when He’s here

Just as with Eve, he will have you thinking you don’t need God because you can be God by your own strength but he also knows that this will hurt you too because you don’t get why everything is going wrong when you’ve worked so hard & you don’t get why you feel so empty either

Now look at all of the above. The devil didn’t even have to shout to do all of this. All it takes is a whisper or a conversation. A couple words that hurt and then lead to projection. Someone is hurting and doesn’t want to hurt alone so they’re hurting others. Bullies do this.

So then HOW do we break away from the cycle of lies? It’s simple yet it’s so difficult but anything is possible through Christ (Philippians 4:13)

Affirming who we are in Christ is good, it’s a step, but given the gravity of the lies, it’s not always enough.

Affirming is the first step. Extending these affirmations is next. We can’t just wait until we’re aware that someone is hurting to make them understand the truth, otherwise it just feels like another lie just for the sake of comforting.

If we only do it after hearing what they’re going through, it’s almost robotic. It comes like pity/forced. Why do you think God created us with free will when He could’ve just made us obey Him? Genuine love feels better. It needs to come naturally so we must make it habitual.

Sharing the love God has blessed us with should come as FIRST nature, not even second. You telling someone they’re beautiful unprovoked, you just being kind, you sharing whenever you can, you spending time with people, you complimenting their work, you supporting their grinds.

It needs to get to a point where the person knows they can come to you whenever then need a pick-up, whenever they need a friend, whenever they need help and not feel judged. This is Christlike love. We need to love unconditionally. Love just because.

We need to love because Christ loved us FIRST. Jesus didn’t extend love to Zacchaeus only after he was saved. He loved Zacchaeus when nobody would. My guy had to hide in a sycamore tree loooool everyone hated him (plus he was short but that’s not the point here)

When we’re loving constantly & feeling constant love, there’s no room for the devil’s lies to enter bcos we’re drenched in love. That’s not saying there won’t be moments where we are reminded of the lies. Lies are honestly easier to believe because we’ve heard them all our lives.

The more we drown out the lies with Christlike love, the less we believe them and the more we remain at peace. God loves us. There’s no greater love than His. If He says we’re good, we’re good.

Galatians 2:20 says it’s no longer us but Christ who lives in us. He handles our burdens, our pains, the lies and turns that all into eternal joy. We just need to let Him use us as vessels to extend this same love to others.

Hopefully someone is blessed by this thread, these are my thoughts. May we all extend love and drown out the devil’s lies in Jesus’ name! God bless you all