You can rob a bank with a toy gun because someone believes the lie. And while I am not advocating this practice, I am in awe of its reality. Ignoring the fact that robbing a bank is a wrong and illegal action, it seems ridiculous that someone would endeavor to do so using a toy gun. But which is the bigger fool: the robber using a toy gun or the banker that believes the lie and hands over the money?
A lie is only powerful inasmuch as we believe it and act on it. If the banker had been familiar with guns, maybe even owned a gun of his own, he might have readily recognized the fake and not become paralyzed by fear.
We are best able to recognize the lie when we are familiar with the truth.
Recognizing God’s Voice (from chapter 9, Who Has the Last Word?)
Elijah recognized God’s voice as a whisper (1 Kings 19:12-13). The sheep recognized and followed the voice of the Good Shepherd (John 10:2-5). It’s about knowing God, not just about Him, in order to recognize His voice of truth in the midst of trying times.
The more time we spend in the Word, the more we come to know His words, and the easier it is to discern His words of truth amidst the bombardment of lies.
My sister and brother-in-law were on a camping trip outside of cell range. But our other housemate needed to reach them in order to ask permission to bring home a puppy she wanted to adopt.
“Michelle! I can’t reach Kim and Paxton and I really want to bring this puppy home!” Shannon proceeded to describe the dog, and then went into her rapid-fire questions. “I need to know what you think they would say. I don’t want to get it and have it at the house without their permission, but there is no way the puppy will still be here tomorrow. It’ll only be like two weeks because, after that, I move out, and we’ll be headed home for our wedding... What do I do?!”
I considered Shannon’s predicament and responded, “I hate to speak for them, but I understand you really want the dog and want to at least check with someone who knows them well.” I continued with a few points that I thought they would make, and things that should be taken into consideration, like how their own dogs would respond.
Shannon thanked me and was going to try and call them one more time, but had decided that she would probably go ahead and get the puppy...
A couple of hours later, I met Shannon and her fiancé at the house to help introduce the puppy to my sister and brother-in law’s dogs. After the dogs’ initial introductions, Shannon looked at me, surprised.
“I forgot to tell you. I was able to reach Kim on the phone and ask her about the puppy. She mentioned every single one of the things you said she would. Some of the things she said were verbatim what you said!”
I smiled and responded, “Well, we kind of know each other.” Sisters, living in the same house, conversing, spending time together... I didn’t want to speak for her, but I felt confident that I would represent her to the best of my ability because I knew her and I knew her voice.
May we come to know God’s voice so intimately!
Satan’s lies scream in attack. God’s voice is a gentle whisper of comfort and hope in the midst of the storm. When we listen for God’s voice and are attentive to His words of truth, Satan’s clamoring is quieted. And God gets the last word.
Yet sometimes, we have trouble recognizing the lies on our own. Here is a story in which I helped someone recognize a lie she had believed for years (from chapter 10, Who Has the Last Word?):
“My son got diabetes and died from complications of the disease because God was punishing me for marrying a non-Christian... I’ve made so many bad decisions in my life that there is no way God wants to hear from me. I feel like I can’t talk to Him because I know He won’t listen to me.”
This was not a statement I expected to hear from a seventy-two-year-old woman, one who had been a Christian for years, but who was letting Satan have the last word.
Humbled by the scenario before me, I thanked God for the opportunity to speak words of truth and freedom into this sister’s life. She had been living her entire life entrapped by Satan’s lies, burdened by guilt.
I began, “You have three grown children, right?” A loving glimmer filled her eyes and she responded in the affirmative.
“And, even today, when one of your kids is in trouble or has done something wrong, do you want them to avoid you or come to you so that you can comfort them, advise them, and show them love?”
“Well, of course I want them to come to me!”
“And do you think that our loving Heavenly Father is any different when one of His children messes up? Don’t you think He longs to comfort us, advise us, and shower us with His love?”
“I’ve never thought of it that way before...”
The following Sunday, upon greeting my friend, her face was one of peace and she looked as if she had lost 100 pounds off her already small frame. The joy stemming from her newfound freedom was unquenchable. She had embraced the truth of God’s abounding love, giving Him the last word in her life.
This month, we are highlighting various portions of the book Who Has the Last Word? Cutting through Satan’s Lies with the Truth of God’s Word. We invite you to gather a group of women this fall and walk together to Recognize the Lies, Replace the Lies with Truth and Remember the Truth through specific scriptures.
#IronRoseSister #WLW #truth