Believing The Right Thing: Replacing Satan's Lies With God's Truth

All throughout college I felt the tug on my heart to come home to Him.  I ignored it for the most part. 

Sometimes I would have weeks or months where I would read my Bible often, but then Satan would whisper a lie in my ear that God wasn’t happy with me for not living for Him, and I believed that lie.  Those lies got so bad that I would ask Jesus into my heart over and over, believing that I wasn’t saved.

Let me tell you friend, if Satan whispers this to you, and you’ve accepted Christ already, THEN THIS IS A LIE!  Do not fall for it!  Once you are saved, you are saved FOREVER!  There is nothing you can do to lose your position in Christ. 

“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”

(emphasis mine)

1 John 5:13 (NKJV)

Satan Deceives Believers Into Thinking They Aren't Saved

All throughout college I felt the tug on my heart to come home to Him.  I ignored it for the most part. 

Sometimes I would have weeks or months where I would read my Bible often, but then Satan would whisper a lie in my ear that God wasn’t happy with me for not living for Him, and I believed that lie.  Those lies got so bad that I would ask Jesus into my heart over and over, believing that I wasn’t saved.

Let me tell you friend, if Satan whispers this to you, and you’ve accepted Christ already, THEN THIS IS A LIE!  Do not fall for it!  Once you are saved, you are saved FOREVER!  There is nothing you can do to lose your position in Christ. 

“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”

(emphasis mine)

1 John 5:13 (NKJV)

John says, so that you may KNOW! 

If we have believed in Jesus, then we are assured of our faith.  The second part of that verse says to continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.  That means, reject the lie that Satan brings to your mind AND continue to believe in the saving name of Jesus. 

When Satan whispers into your ear, repeat this verse to yourself.  Repeat it over and over.  Then you will KNOW that you have eternal life.

Satan Deceives Believers Into Thinking Following God Is Boring

Following graduation that tug for my heart turned into an earnest pull.  The pull became so intense that I couldn’t sleep or eat without being conscious of God desiring my full surrender to Him. 

I resisted for about 2 months, and then finally hit my knees around 2am one night and fully surrendered my life.  I knew that if I surrendered, there was no looking back.  I was going all in and living my life fully for the Lord. 

I resisted for so long because Satan came at me with lies, whispering things like: “following Jesus is a boring life, just look at all those boring Christians you know.”  Or, “God might ask you to go into missions…we both know that terrifies you…”  He came at me with my own fears and used them against me.

Satan knows our trigger points.  He knows what things to whisper to us that will prevent us from walking in the fullness of what God has for our lives.  The Bible says he’s cunning (Genesis 3:1), and he uses crafty language to deceive us into believing that submitting our life to God’s will won’t be any fun. 

He whispers deceptive language in our ears and we believe his lies.  The lies compound, and we begin to live a life that slowly kills and destroys us.  Not only does Satan lie to us about how boring following God is, he convinces us to live a "fun" life of partying, drugs, alcohol, pornography, living in sexual sin; and then when we are filled with regret over our choices, comes around and knocks us on the head again.  He's so fun like that.

Believer or non believer, Satan wants us to feel condemned for every single life choice we make.

 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

John 10:10

Satan Deceives Believers About God's True Nature

Do you know what Satan’s job is on earth?  His number one priority?  To bring as many people with him to hell.   But what about if you’re a believer?  If you accept Christ and His saving work on the cross, then the devil's job is to deceive you and render you useless for the kingdom of God. 

He does this by lying to us about our position in Christ.  He wants us to believe that we can lose our salvation.  So we spend hours or days, weeks or months, even years! believing that we need to repent of our past sins, make amends, and re-accept Jesus into our hearts.

But maybe you already know that?  Instead he will lie to you and make you believe that God is angry with you.  He deceives you into believing that every time you sin, God is angry, and that you need to repent immediately. 

We start to believe that the veil between us and God, is still there.  But God’s word says the veil is torn! (Matthew 27:51)  There is NOTHING separating us from the love of God.  But if we believe that He is angry with us, then we won’t come near to Him. 

We will be ashamed, and our pride will keep us from humbly accepting that Christ’s ONE sacrifice FOREVER forgives us of EVERY SINGLE THING we could ever do in this life. 

Let me tell you something, God will never, ever, be angry with you.  Jesus stands in the gap of God and His righteous anger, and instead of receiving what we deserve for our sinful nature, we receive the RIGHTEOUSNESS of Christ. 

When He sees you, when He sees me, He sees us clothed in white, with the righteousness of his Son Jesus surrounding us, and seated with Him in the heavenly places.

What Are You Believing?

After I fully surrendered to the Lord it took me awhile to realize that Satan was still lying to me.  Just differently.  It took me 3 years of really hard work to repair the damage he had done to my mind and begin to believe right about who I am in Christ.

God says I am righteous by the blood of His lamb (Romans 5:9).  He says I am His beloved, that I am a saint (Romans 1:7).  He says that I am holy and chosen by Him (Colossians 3:12).

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (emphasis mine)

II Corinthians 10:4-5

Satan doesn’t fight fairly, he fights dirty.  He twists God’s Word and uses it against you.  He argues with you about who you are.  Beloved, FIGHT BACK!  Satan wages war in your mind, and that’s the place that needs to come into obedience to Christ.  How?  By taking every thought captive.

Whatever lies the Devil whispers to you, find a verse that counters it and memorize it.  Then when he comes to you, remind yourself of who you are in Christ.  Remind yourself of what God’s Word says about you.  Remind yourself that YOU ARE the beloved son or daughter of the Most High. 

You are righteous.  You are altogether lovely.  You are holy.  You are chosen.  You are sanctified.  Not because of anything you did, but because Jesus took your place, took my place, at the cross and died for you, for me. 

Being obedient to Christ doesn’t mean you need to serve Him or earn your righteousness in some way.  It means we comply (agree) with the knowledge of what God’s word says about us.

So, pick up the Word of God.  Wage it against Satan when he comes near, and tell him, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.”  When you are compelled to sin, say “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.”  Keep on saying it.  Even when you feel ashamed, say it.

Use God’s Word to wage war against the arguments that Satan brings to your mind.  Satan is a lawyer, he lies to you, then he argues with you or points a finger at what you're believing.  Stop those lies in their tracks.  Retrain your mind from believing an incorrect thought about yourself to believing what God says about who you are. 

It might take awhile, but it will be worth it.

So, what are you believing?

With Joy, Jessica