Recognizing The Lies - Changing the Way You Think: Taking Every Thought Captive

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4, NIV)

“For we are not unaware of his schemes.” (2 Corinthians 2:11, NIV)

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” (Genesis 3:1, 4-5, NIV)

For forty years, every workday morning, my husband’s alarm clock went off at five thirty. He got up, showered, shaved, brushed his teeth, got dressed, and placed his jingling keys in his pocket. When he opened and closed the door leading to the garage, the alarm in the bedroom beeped three times—loudly. This happened every weekday, and I didn’t hear a thing—slept right through it. Why? My mind has grown so accustomed to his routine I don’t even hear the noise.

That’s the same way with the lies we tell ourselves about ourselves and our circumstances. We can grow so accustomed to them, we think they are the truth…when they are not.

The Bible says, “We are not ignorant of [Satan’s] schemes” (2 Corinthians 2:11, NASB). His schemes include a step-by-step progressive plan of one lie that leads to another lie that leads to another lie. The lies begin small with seemingly insignificant consequences and gradually grow large with more destructive repercussions. Lies such as:

• I’m so stupid.
• I can’t do anything right.
• I’ll never change.

The only way to recognize a lie is to know the Truth. We must know the truth of Scripture so when a counterfeit comes along, we recognize its lack of authenticity.

When someone is training to become a bank teller, he or she is taught how to recognize counterfeit money. However, the instructors don’t teach what counterfeit bills look like; they teach what genuine currency looks like. They study the markings, the coloring, and the feel of real money, so when the counterfeit comes along, the teller can recognize it.

D. L. Moody once said, “The best way to show that a stick is crooked is not to argue about it or to spend time denouncing it, but to lay a straight stick alongside it.” God’s Word is the only straight stick—the only measuring stick that matters.

If Satan came to you in a little red suit with a pitchfork and announced himself as the devil, you wouldn’t believe a word he said. But he is cunning and disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). When he deceived Eve, he even quoted Scripture—albeit twisted and distorted.

He has a collection of old tapes from your past, and he pushes rewind and play, rewind and play. Oh yes, he knows which buttons to push. He also uses personal pronouns like “I” instead of “you.” The thoughts sound something like this: I am a failure. I am a loser. I can’t do anything right. I’m ugly. The thoughts sound like you, feel like you, and before you know it, you think they are you. That’s the reason it’s so difficult to detect the lies. They sound just like us.

David wrote, “Awake, my soul!” (Psalm 57:8 NIV). In other words, pay attention soul! Pay attention to the words we say to ourselves about ourselves and our circumstances.

When it comes to the enemy, we don’t have to outfight him, we just have to out-truth him. But first, we have to recognize the lies we’ve been telling ourselves.

Prayer:

Father, sometimes I don’t know if I am believing lies about myself or my circumstances. Help me to pay attention to my thought life so that I can recognize the lies and defeat them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Take a moment and write down three to five statements that you have been telling yourself that don’t line up with Scripture.