Have you ever noticed or wondered about the first thing Satan said to Eve to lure her into wrong doing? It was “Has God said…”, like, Really? Did He say that? Are you sure?
One of the enemy’s most subtle and dangerous snares is DOUBT. Doubt attacks our faith and our confidence in the One who provides all we need physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally. The very moment I begin to agree with that doubt, I begin to choose and trust mySELF, and usually because somewhere inside, that doubt is rooted in FEAR.
Often that fear is the fear that God won’t really live up to who He says He is. Or fulfill what I know He has promised. But who God says He is, is right in His Word, which gives us Numbers 23:19…that God is not human, that He should lie (NIV). When Satan tried to tempt Jesus – which he did after Jesus had fasted in the desert for 40 days – how did Jesus shut him down? Jesus shut the enemy down with TRUTH, the WORD OF GOD. Even in His very weak and hungry state, His strength was in the Word.
In March of last year, I endured a weekend of the worst spiritual warfare I’d ever encountered in my walk with the Lord. The enemy launched an attack that went right to my weakest points and deepest insecurities. I was just at the exploration stage of a very special relationship and the enemy hurled lie after lie after lie my way – about me, the new person in my life, my worth (or lack thereof, in his book) and all my past relationship wounds as proof. When I reflect on that weekend, all I can see is darkness and anxiety. By the end of the weekend, I was emotionally spent and exhausted. So much so that when my new friend called on Monday morning, I couldn’t even take the call for fear of everything I’d been through tumbling out into our phone call, and I was too unsure of how that might be received (another lie at work of course).
In one of my devotionals, written by a very well-respected and well-known pastor, I had learned that every discouraging thought is from the enemy. So I had no doubt about the source. When the internal tension eased the next day, I turned to God in prayer and asked Him straight out, why had He allowed the warfare. And in response, that’s when He sent Jesus to me in a dream to launch me into the spiritual journey I mentioned in my last post. During my conversation with Jesus early that morning, He reminded me that I’d already learned what to do when warfare mounts. He’d already taught me to surrender it the minute I became aware of an enemy attack. Before anything had the slightest opportunity to gain even a toehold, all I had to do is simply pray
“Jesus I surrender this to you. Please take these thoughts captive.”
And each and every time, He has taken it and given me His peace to replace the turmoil inside.
It was a valuable reminder, timed perfectly at the start of that journey. I used that defense tool often, while Jesus was bringing me along to a place of wholeness and restoration, the enemy fighting Him every step of the way.
Currently, God is revisiting some of the truths He showed me during that journey, especially about some actions He wants me to take towards the future, and how He has already laid the foundation for me to stand on – even if right now, things looks so far removed from what He’s revealed to me, and frankly, rather scary. But He’s opening the gate, asking me to act in faith, and I’ve been waiting for that gate for over a year. Is doubt trying to creep into my mind? Yep. Have I doubted? Sure. I’m human. But God is not.
God is not human, that he should lie,
not a human being that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill? (Num 23:19 NIV)
Why is it sometimes so much easier to believe the voice of doubt than the Voice of Truth, and to react to that doubt with fear and insecurity than to stand with faith and confidence? The minute we hear the voice of doubt whispering, just like Jesus, we can stand in the truth of the Word, strong in who it says God is, who it says we are and how very much we are loved, and rebuke the enemy and his lies right in his tracks. Doubt and fear may be among the enemy’s strongest weapons, but our sword to cut both of those to shreds is the Word. All the testimonies and promises contained in the Word are gifts God uses to build our faith, while He develops personal testimonies of our own, to recall whenever we need to be reminded of what He has already done and can do again. Testimonies to share with others when they need them too. Even if our heart is breaking, our knees are wobbling and panic is setting in, God will always live up to His Word. Numbers 23:19 assures us of that.
Testimony faith, at it’s best.
Testimony Faith 