by Joyce Meyer
To arbitrarily believe everything you read without checking into its source is not wise. Demons can easily lead people to write books filled with philosophical ideas that appeal to the human mind even though they are not true. Ideas and principles may sound reasonable, but they can ultimately lead to misery and life without God. Always remember that anyone can write a book and say anything they want to, but that doesn’t make it true!
John urges believers to test and try the spirits for many false prophets are in the world (see 1 John 4:1). Luke writes in Acts about the Berean believers who received the teaching of salvation enthusiastically, but also examined the Scriptures daily to see if what they were hearing was true (see Acts 17:10–11). Test what you hear, read, and believe. Ask if it agrees with God’s Word and if it truly works in your life and produces good fruit. Find the truth, hold it firmly in your heart, and never let it go.
Pray That You Won’t Be Deceived
I pray regularly that God will protect me from deception, and I urge you to do the same. The world is filled with deception these days.
The influence of people who are deceived can lead us into deception and error if we do not know the truth of God’s Word. We need something solid and unchanging to hold on to and keep us grounded. For me it is God’s Word, and I pray it is the same for you. I have seen how the Word has influenced and changed not only my life, but also the lives of countless other people. I am completely and utterly convinced that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (see John 14:6). You will have to decide for yourself if you believe this. If you have not already done so, I urge you to do so without delay. God is always the same and He is the rock we can stand on, the rock that never moves. Everything around us might be shifting and changing, but God is always the same, yesterday, today, and forever (see Heb. 13:8).
I read that the suicide rate in the world today is the highest it has ever been, and I believe that is due in large part to the confusion and hopelessness that people feel when they do not have a proper understanding of God and His Word. I have heard that suicide is the second-highest cause of death for adolescents twelve to nineteen years of age (cdc.gov). Why would someone who is just beginning their life feel the need to end it, if not because they see nothing to live for? People need something solid to cling to, and they need the truth rather than the philosophies of ungodly people. Most people feel they are fighting something most of the time, but many don’t realize their real war is against Satan. He alone is the underlying cause, the instigator and perpetrator of what ails our society, and the only weapon that will defeat him is the truth of God’s Word.
The apostle James wrote that we are to be subject to God and resist the devil, and then he will flee from us (see James 4:7). Obeying God and resisting the devil are both our responsibilities as believers. When we do this, God will fight our battles for us. We need to be diligent to know who our real enemy is, recognize the tactics he uses, and live carefully and watchfully because he is always searching for ways to influence our lives.
The apostle Paul instructs us to put on God’s whole armor so we may successfully stand up to all the strategies and deceits of the devil (see Eph. 6:11). Here again is something we are responsible to do. Ephesians 6:10–18 gives us a good description of what this armor is, and we will cover it in detail in a later chapter. Satan is a dangerous foe, but God has not left us unequipped to deal with him. In fact, we have all we need to be more than conquerors.
Practical Ways to Avoid Deception
In addition to praying that we will not be deceived, there are several practical things we can do to keep deception far from us.
Manage emotions and feelings.
Nothing is more dangerous to Satan than a believer who is willing to obey God and believe His Word no matter how they feel.
More than anything else, people tell us how they feel, but feelings don’t always tell us the truth. They are fickle! We may feel like doing one thing at 8:00 A.M., and somehow by 2:00 P.M. we no longer feel like doing it, even though we said we would do it earlier. As victorious Christians, we must learn how to manage our emotions and how to judge what we feel by God’s Word to determine whether our feelings are conveying truth or deception.
Feelings can be quite motivating, but when they disappear that doesn’t mean that we are free to stop doing what we have committed to do.
Avoid extremes.
1 Peter 5:8 tells us to be well-balanced, self-disciplined, alert, and cautious at all times in order to keep Satan from gaining an advantage over us. Satan doesn’t care if we do too much or too little of something. As long as we are extreme he is satisfied. Consider these examples:
1. Some people may not be prudent in saving money for the future, while others may be stingy and save more than is necessary. They may hoard all they have out of fear of not having enough. In doing so they are not trusting God at all to take care of them.
2. Some people are not willing to do anything for anyone else. They are totally self-absorbed and think only of themselves. Others do too much for people, enabling them to remain lazy and inactive. Or they do so much for others that they don’t take proper care of themselves, and they end up filled with resentment and feeling as if people take advantage of them.
3. Some people have no discipline at all. Others are very legalistic, living strictly by rules and regulations. This can make them very rigid, difficult to get along with, and often critical of people who don’t live as they do.
The list of extremes could go on and on, but the point is for us to work with the Holy Spirit and allow Him to lead us so we can maintain balance in all areas of life. There is a godly rhythm for our lives, and when we follow it, life is enjoyable and we avoid giving the devil an opening to torment or deceive us. We all need work and rest, fun and laughter, worship and solitude (times of quiet). We need to be alone, but we also need the balance of being in community with other people. Solomon wrote that there is a perfect time for everything (see Eccles. 3), and we have often heard that we should do all things in moderation.
Don’t put your trust in works of the flesh.
One major way the devil deceives us is by provoking us to stay busy doing what the Bible calls “works of the flesh.” Works of the flesh refer to our efforts to try to make something happen without leaning on God for help. God doesn’t do everything for us, but neither can we do anything without Him.
The apostle Paul writes at length in his Epistles about works of the flesh and how useless and devoid of power they are. These activities keep us busy and frustrated, because they are not effective and leave us disappointed. We are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus, and not by any works we have done. The way we are saved is the way we must learn to live our daily lives.
Worry is a work of our flesh that attempts to solve our own problems. As we learn to stop thinking about our problems and fill our minds instead with the truth that our battles belong to the Lord, we will be able to let God fight our battles for us and realize that worry is something we no longer have to do. As a matter of fact, God’s Word teaches that when we cast our care, God takes care of us (see 1 Pet. 5:7). The more we lean and rely on God, the more He helps us.
Trying to change the people in our lives into what we want them to be is also a work of the flesh. Only God can change people. We can and should pray for them, but we cannot change them. True and lasting change must come from the inside out, and only God can change a person’s heart. We should love people as they are rather than how we want them to be. God loves us unconditionally, and He wants us to love others the same way.
Learning to recognize when we are doing “works of the flesh” is very important. We waste a great deal of time and energy on what I call “works that don’t work.” Anytime I start trying to make something happen on my own, or trying to force something that God doesn’t approve of, I become frustrated, disappointed, and worn-out. I have learned that works of the flesh produce struggle, whereas faith in God produces rest!
Refuse to compromise.
To compromise means to go a little bit below what you know to be right, and it is a major way Satan deceives people. The devil says that “just once” won’t hurt. That is what he told Jesus when he tempted Him in the wilderness (see Luke 4). He said if Jesus would bow down and worship him just once, he would give Him all the kingdoms of this world (see Luke 4:5–8).
I once heard a funny story about a father whose children were trying to convince him to let them go to a movie that had a little foul language and a few inappropriate sex scenes. They argued that just a little bit wouldn’t hurt them. He told them no, and then proceeded to give them an example of how dangerous just “a little bit” can be. He baked his children’s favorite cookies and then told them he had added just a tiny bit of a new ingredient—dog poop—but he guaranteed them that they would not taste it at all. Not one of them was willing to try the new cookies, and Dad had made his point.
Don’t believe the “just once” or “a little won’t hurt” lies! Set standards, live by them, and don’t compromise when others urge you to do so. Just because someone else does something, that doesn’t make it right for you. Jesus said that we are in the world but we are not to be like it (see John 17:14–16; Rom. 12:2). Charles Spurgeon said, “I believe that one reason why the church of God at this present moment has so little influence over the world is because the world has so much influence over the church” (https://www.christianquotes.info/quotes-by-topic/quotes-about-compromise/#ixzz5DycJhvp1).
Paul wrote to Timothy that a soldier in service does not get entangled in the enterprises of civilian life; his aim is to satisfy the one who enlisted him (see 2 Tim. 2:4).
Satan tempts us to live two lives or to be a dual person, meaning we present ourselves as one type of person when we are with our Christian friends and as another when we are with our worldly associates. A person may behave one way at church and quite another way at the office or at home. But if our faith in Jesus is genuine and sincere, then we will be the same in every situation. We must not let the fear of what people think of us lead us to compromise our moral behavior.
Satan has scored a victory when he is successful in presenting compromising Christians to the world.
Deny deceitful desires.
Another way the devil deceives us is through the things we desire. God will give us the desires of our heart as we delight ourselves in Him (see Ps. 37:4), but He won’t give us the desires of our flesh. People may desire and pursue things that have no ability to do for them what they thought they would. When they obtain these things, they may be excited for a short time, but they soon feel empty. We all seek to be happy, but sadly we may waste many years pursuing things that are what Jeremiah called empty wells with no water in them.
“For My people have committed two evils: They have abandoned (rejected) Me, the fountain of living water, and they have carved out their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
Jeremiah 2:13
This kind of deception works in a way similar to how a mirage affects a person stranded in the desert. He is so thirsty that he imagines he sees a pond of water ahead. He runs for it and dives into what he thinks will quench his thirst, but sadly, finds just more sand.
God wants us to have many enjoyable things, but He must be first place in our lives. God can give us joy without things, but things without God will never give us joy.
Millions of people waste their lives chasing things they think will give them satisfaction, contentment, and joy, and they end up frustrated and discontented. It may be money, position, or higher levels of education. They may desire to be in a certain social group, or to climb a mountain, or be number one at some sport. Often people want to own things like bigger houses, better cars, boats, more expensive clothes, and all kinds of material goods.
If our goal is to obtain the things of the world, Satan can always dangle more “things” in front of us and we can waste more time chasing them. But will they really make us happy and give us peace? Apparently they won’t, because some of the wealthiest and most famous people in the world are reported to be among some of the unhappiest. In fact, I was reading an article just yesterday about famous, wealthy people who spent their lives entertaining others, yet in their private lives, they suffered with terrible unhappiness, to the point that some committed suicide, believing they couldn’t face another day.
Like most people, I tried all the wrong ways to find happiness until I finally exhausted all possibilities. Then, thankfully, I learned that my own desires were deceiving me. Satan was continually whispering to me, “This is it; this will make you happy once you get it.” He is a liar. What we truly need to find true happiness is God and His will for our lives.
Jesus said He came that we might “enjoy life and have it in abundance” (see John 10:10). He wants us to have an abundance of all good things, but we must remember that things without God cannot give us happiness.
The ways Satan tries to deceive people are probably endless, so let’s be dedicated to praying on a regular basis for God to reveal any deception in our lives, and let us live by the truth of God’s Word.
CHAPTER 8
Hold Your Peace
“The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
Exodus 14:14 NKJV
God will fight our battles for us, but we see in Exodus 14:14 that we have a responsibility, which is to hold on to our peace. The Amplified Bible version of this verse says we are to “keep silent and remain calm.” Is this challenging? Yes! Is it possible? Yes! God never tells us to do something that is not possible for us to do. It is important to believe that, otherwise the devil will fill our minds with endless excuses and reasons we cannot do what God tells us to do.
When we cut away everything that distracts us, I think what most of us want more than anything else is peace, and according to Jesus, we have it. He said that He left His peace with us—not the kind of peace the world offers, but a special peace that functions in the midst of life’s storms. He also said, “Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid” (John 14:27). We can continually see the same theme throughout the Word of God. He promises to fight for us, and that promise always comes with something He expects us to do. We could say that our action of obedience represents sowing a seed of faith, and then God brings the harvest.
The seed we sow may require some type of physical action, but not always. Sometimes the seed is a spiritual action. We believe, and God works. We pray, and God changes circumstances. We remain peaceful, and God fights our battles.
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
Romans 16:20 ESV
Jesus is the Prince of Peace (see Isa. 9:6). He came to Earth to bring us peace and to tear down the walls that divide us. He desires that we dwell together in unity because when we do, our power increases. Peace produces power, but chaos and turmoil produce weakness. It is only natural then that Satan works tirelessly to keep people angry, worried, anxious, upset, or frustrated, and to do anything else that will steal our peace. He is the prince of chaos!
Jesus said those who are “makers and maintainers of peace” will express God’s character and be called His sons (see Matt. 5:9). All believers are children of God, but not all reach the mature level of sons and daughters. Holding on to peace in the midst of tribulation is done by the spiritually mature—those who have had their senses trained by experience to trust God at all times, knowing that He always works things out for our good. I believe the more experience we have with God, the easier it becomes to trust Him. If we refuse to give up, each situation we go through shows us God’s faithfulness, and over time we realize that He truly never lets us down. Things may not always turn out as we hope they will, but eventually we see that God’s way is best.
Talk to Yourself
One thing that helps me calm down when I have lost my peace is to talk to myself. I have a meeting with myself and say things like this: “Joyce, worry is not goi
ng to make this better. Being upset is not good for your health. It will leave you worn out and probably grouchy.” I remind myself that God is good and faithful, and that as long as I believe, He will work on my behalf. Sometimes there is nothing better than having a good talk with yourself. We can talk ourselves into being upset, or we can talk ourselves into being calm—it is up to us.
You may remember that Exodus 14:14 says to “keep silent and remain calm,” and God will fight for you. This is because we sometimes talk too much to the wrong people, or out of our frustration and fear, which causes us to say things that do not agree with God’s Word. The best thing to do during a battle is to meditate on Scriptures that will help you calm down. Anytime I start to worry, I meditate on Philippians 4:6–7, which says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (ESV).
Anyone who can worry can meditate. To worry is to meditate on a problem, to think about it over and over and over. Meditation on God’s Word works the same way; we take a Scripture and think about it over and over and over. This acts like medicine for the soul and has a calming effect.
Ronald Reagan said, “Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with conflict by peaceful means.” I have often said, “When we disagree, we can learn to disagree agreeably.”
Worried people usually have scowls on their faces and furrows in their brows. It isn’t difficult to spot a worried person. Mother Teresa said, “Peace begins with a smile.” I think that is a great thought. Maybe if we start by purposely smiling, our emotions will follow, bringing peace and joy.
Peace is a conscious choice, not something we merely wait to feel. God’s Word instructs us to “pursue peace” (see Heb. 12:14). In Colossians 3:15, Paul teaches us to let the peace of God rule in our hearts. In other words, the presence or absence of peace should be the deciding factor in all our decisions. We need to find what is peaceful before taking any action. We would save ourselves a great deal of trouble in life if we would learn to always follow peace. I may want a new home or automobile, but if I don’t have peace about the purchase, then I shouldn’t do it. I may want to talk to a friend about a fault I see in her, but if I don’t have peace about it, then I shouldn’t say anything about it.
