lies

“How long will you assault a man?  Would you all throw him down—this leaning wall, this tottering fence?  They fully intend to topple him from his lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse.  Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.” (Psalm 62:3-5)

The number one assault on our soul’s ability to find rest in God alone comes from the lies of the enemy.  Somehow, we have bought into the notions that: God’s love must be earned, and our worth must be achieved.  So much so, in fact, that it has made rest an impossibility.  If our salvation and our honor depend on us, instead of on God alone, then we will go through life desperately trying to prove to ourselves, to our world, and even to our God, that we are worth loving.  And that definitely doesn’t lead to rest.

In fact, the enemy has done such a masterful job of convincing us of this fallacy that we even experience a good amount of shame over the idea of rest.  Can you believe that?  Feeling shame about something God has actually commanded us to do.  How messed up is that?

Thus, it is extremely important in the spiritual life to pay careful attention to the lies we are buying in to.  How do we do this?  One way is by constantly meditating on the truth.  When we know the truth of God to the depths of our being, then we will be able to spot even the most subtle lies when they rear their ugly heads.  And once we recognize the lies, we will be able to fight them.  We will be able to respond to the lies with the truth, which is the only thing that can set us free.  If we are not free, it is because we are believing something that is not true.

O Lord, our souls will never be able to find rest in you alone as long as we continue to buy into the lies of the culture and the enemy.  Help us to identify these lies and to fight them with your truth, for your truth will always set us free.  Amen.