What do you do when you find yourself caught up in the midst of a lie? Little by little everything you have been told that you believed to be true crumbles before your very eyes. You know that you have been deceived and played as a fool. You fell for it all. You bought the lie. You have no one to blame, but yourself. Why did you fall for the lie? You must search your heart. What weakness in you left you venerable – an easy target? You walk with Christ. You know that you are to find your identity in Him. So, what went wrong? What weakness within made you want to believe this person? What’s your weakness? We all have them. Are you a people pleaser? Do you sometimes secretly believe that you’re not good enough? Do you look to others for confirmation? Have you ever fallen into the trap of “just wanting someone to believe in you” and left yourself wide open to be deceived? What’s your story? What weakness within makes you an easy target? Search your heart – and let’s go to Scripture and ask Christ to speak into the mess we find ourselves entangled.
We know that we are going to be tested. “Then the Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to have you to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have repented, strengthen your brothers.’ He said to Him, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with You to prison and to death.’ He said, ‘I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know Me’” (Luke 22:31-34 MEV). Everything happened just as Jesus proclaimed. Peter denied Christ three times that very night. Likewise, we too can easily fall, especially when we are attacked in our weak areas. Jesus pleaded with Peter to stay awake – to be on guard against the schemes of the evil one. However, in Gethsemane, when He [Jesus] came to the disciples and [He] found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt 26:40-41 NASB).
We too need stay alert knowing how easy it is to fall into temptation. We need to truly know ourselves, including our weaknesses. In all wisdom and protection “be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm therefore, by fastening the belt of truth around your waist, by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, by fitting your feet with the preparation that comes from the good news of peace, and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints” (Eph 6:10-18 NET)
“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith” (Heb 12:1-2 NASB). Through Christ and Christ alone will we “fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Tim 6:12 NRSVA). It’s through Christ that we will overcome our weaknesses and live totally in His grace. To God be the glory. Amen.
