Facing Down The Great Lie

Facing Down the Great Lie

I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Matthew 28:20

Adolf Hitler is credited with identifying a deceitful technique called “The Big Lie.” The principle is that people will more easily swallow a big lie than a small one. According to Hitler, people do not believe others have the nerve to create big lies, making them more likely to believe a giant falsehood. In order to be believed, one needs a lie that is both big enough and simple enough. Once you have that, you only need to keep repeating it. Eventually, most people will swallow it whole.

Most of us will never have to face down the lies of a figure like Adolf Hitler. But lies will come. The biggest one is this: “God is not with you.” That’s it. Over and over, Satan will repeat the lie, usually when you are facing some kind of challenge. A child falls ill: “God won’t hear your prayers.” You’ve lost your job: “God doesn’t care.” Your marriage has run into difficulty: “God can’t do anything because it’s already too far gone.” You’ve committed the same sin once again: “God doesn’t want anything to do with you.”

Over and over the drumbeat of lies can penetrate our hearts until we begin to believe a lie so big and so obviously at odds with our faith that it chills our hearts, convincing us that God is not who he says he is—Immanuel—meaning, “God with us.”

Jesus himself had to face down this terrible lie when he was hanging on the cross. The religious leaders who watched him dying flung it at him saying, “He saved others . . . but he can’t save himself! So he is the King of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him! He trusted God, so let God rescue him now if he wants him!” (Matthew 27:42-43).

If you have been entertaining falsehoods about God’s faithfulness, take a moment to ask for God’s forgiveness. Tell him that you are not going to listen to the lies of the enemy. Ask him to arm you with “the sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17), which is his Word. Then take your stand. Resist the devil, and he will flee.

Father, forgive me for letting the enemy into my heart by listening to lies about you. Arm me with the sword of the Spirit, helping me to stand strong, placing my faith and trust in you no matter what happens.