But, I committed to doing this for my friend, so I faithfully
set my alarm for 3:15 a.m. and went to bed.
When my alarm went off the next morning, I got out of bed and began to
dress. I dressed quickly and then looked
down the hall to see if my friend was up.
The bathroom light was on, so I assumed that she was up and
dressing.
I was dressed and waiting for her to come out of the
bathroom, but she didn’t come out. I
waited 5, 8, 10 minutes. I began to
think that I could have had 10 more minutes of sleep. I waited until 3:25 a.m. for her to come out
of the bathroom. Since I was hearing no
noises coming from the bathroom, I knocked on the door to see if she was
ready. When I knocked on the door, it
popped open. I peeked inside and there
was no one there. The light was on but
“nobody was home.” LOL!
So, I knocked on her bedroom door and said, “Are you up?”
Then I cracked the door and looked inside.
In a very groggy voice, she said, “Yes, I am up.” LOL!
She was not up! She had overslept and was not quite awake
when I opened the door and spoke to her.
When I saw the bathroom light on, I assumed that she was up and getting
ready to leave for the airport. BUT, I
was mistaken. The situation was not as
it appeared to be. What I thought to be
truth (my friend was up) was in fact not the truth.
My friend quickly got out of bed, dressed and we were off to
the airport. God blessed us with no
traffic and good weather; she was on time for her flight and had a fantastic
trip bringing Glory to God throughout.
The deception was not intentional and brought no harm, even though the
enemy tried to use it against us. But,
God, in His wisdom, used the situation for good (Romans 8:28, “All things work
together for good of those who love Christ…”) to give me a lesson in spiritual
warfare.
While driving home from the airport alone that morning, I was
talking to God. In that conversation
with Him, He showed me that spiritual warfare is just like the situation that I
found myself in that morning. “Things
are not always as they seem to be.” The
enemy is a deceiver. Revelation 12:9 calls
Satan “the deceiver of the whole world…..”
John 8:44 calls Satan “…..a liar and the father of lies.”
God showed me that I need to “evaluate” everything that I see
and hear so that I will know whether or not it has roots in the truth or roots
in the lie. I Peter 5:8 says, “Your
enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to
destroy.” John 8:32 says, “If you hold
to my teaching, you are really my disciples.
Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
Are you struggling with discerning the truth from the
lie? Have you been deceived? Have you been lied to? Are you looking for a way out? Romans 12:1-3 says, “Therefore I urge you,
brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve
what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Believe me when I tell you; I have been lied to, I have
believed the lies; I have been deceived, I have needed a way out. And God, in His mercy, has always been there
for me. He has been there to show me the
truth; He has been there to forgive me when I have been deceived; He has been
there to give me a way out. He has been
there for me…..always, always, always!
He has been there!
He is there for you.
Cry out to Him. Offer yourself to
Him as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to Him. Let Him cleanse you of your worldly thoughts
and ways and let Him renew your mind through His Word. He wants to give you discernment so that you
will know the truth from the lie. He
wants you to know the truth so that you will be set free. And when you know the truth, you will be free
indeed.
Encouraging You In Christ!
All Praise, Honor and Glory to God!
