Deception: How Truth Prevails

Hey everyone, it’s your girl Misha! I hope you’ve been enjoying this blog series so far. I know we have! Buckle up and grab a snack because I got a good topic to talk about here and we're about to get open, honest, and real. The Spirit of Deception slithers its way so seamlessly, filling you with little lies and half-truths that the enemy places in your mind to isolate you. Deception is a tool that the enemy uses to steal, kill, and destroy.

Steal what? You.

Kill what? You.

Destroy what? YOU.

I found that the turmoil I faced due to the deception I experienced not only affected me but started to affect the people around me. So let me give y’all the tea on what I’ve learned about the spirit of deception. The root of my anxiety, depression, and emotional distress was the enemy's scheme fueled by deception, and although it was a dark season, many blessings came from the breakthrough I experienced. I hope and pray my experiences help at least one person who is struggling with this the way I did.  

Many of you know my testimony. Long story short, I was in a bad relationship and that whole situation brought me to my lowest point ever. I lived everyday with an anxious mind, a heavy heart, and insecurities that told me I was never enough and will never be enough. I was two-faced; praising the Lord on Sunday, then living in sin on Monday, all because of Satan’s cunning way of making sin seem like the only answer to the situation I faced. In hindsight, I realize that I entered into this relationship very insecure. I had a poor self image and a weak identity as a daughter of the king. This gave the enemy the perfect ammunition to deceive me, making me believe that my identity as a girlfriend was more important than my identity as a child of God. I lost myself completely. I found myself begging God to take my life and there was a moment where I was sitting on the floor in my kitchen, ready to end it all, and instead of taking my life, the Lord saved it. Praise God! My story covers three different aspects of deception.

The first aspect of deception was deception of the situation. The enemy used this situation to his advantage and started planting so many lies. Lies like, “You're never going to be good enough for anyone... You're useless, unimportant…not even your family likes you…the world would be better without you.” It just went on and on and on. And unfortunately, I believed every single lie the enemy threw at me, causing me to succumb to the patterns of this world appeasing the selfish desires of the flesh.

Which leads me to the next aspect of deception: the deception of self. I told myself that I was the reason for the problems in this relationship, so I changed myself to fix it. I dressed differently, I acted differently, and I made excuses for my behavior to justify my actions. Somehow, I believed the enemy's lies were the truth and lived in this tormented state of deception long enough for it to become my new normal. Living in my sin became easier and easier the more I listened to the half-truths and lies the enemy filled my mind with.

And finally, number three: the deception of others. I would stand on platform as a worship leader, all the while living life so hypocritically. I stood in front of my family, the people that mean the most to me, and would tell them that I was okay when I clearly wasn't. My family, being a very discerning group of people, knew I wasn't being honest but understood my fragile mental state and rather than confronting me with hard truth, which could have potentially brought me to my end, they met me with gentle prayer. Deception has its way of squeezing between even the tightest and strongest relationships. Never once would I think I'd feel distant from my family but because of the deception fogging my perspective, there was a point where I felt my family was against me. I felt alone, far away from the most important people in my life; completely isolated.

This went on for years. But there was a turning point and the Lord perfectly orchestrated an escape plan which started with a simple prayer, “Abba. Save me.” I ended the relationship and became focused on building my relationship with God instead. Now, I can read my bible and sit at His feet, intentionally listening for His voice, working hard at making it the loudest and most important voice I hear. I’m free of Satan’s deception, free from the toxic attachment, healing beautifully and falling deeper in love with Jesus more and more every single day. WOOHOO!!!

Deception is like cancer. It starts small and spreads quickly until it destroys you. And in my case, it almost did. It's a tool the enemy uses to isolate you and draw you farther and farther away from the Lord.

How do you defeat the spirit of deception? By combating it with the Spirit of Truth. In John 16:13, it says,

“When the spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.”

The Spirit of Truth is the living word of God, The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's role is to lead the believer into God’s complete truth, not just partial or incomplete knowledge. Growing up, we learned about the armor of God but as an adult, I'm finally coming to know how to put it on. Maybe your situation is different, maybe your experiences don't look like mine, but one thing is certain and that is that deception will try to find you in many ways. We must, as God’s children, be prepared to battle against deception by knowing God’s voice, by allowing for the Holy Spirit to guide you, by understanding His complete truth, and by putting on the full armor of God every single day. Sit in His presence, read His words, know His voice, and God will help you just like He helped me.