A woman in my Bible study class recently made a statement that made me think. She said, “If we are deceived, then would we even know it?” Hmmm...good point. I decided to look up the definition of “deceived”: to mislead by a false appearance or statement; delude; (Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary); cause (someone) to believe something that is not true (New Oxford American Dictionary).
To be deceived is to be convinced that something other than “truth” is true. The very nature of deception is to delude us so quietly that we do not realize we believe a lie. It is sneaky...cunning...crafty. We learn from the Bible that people can deceive us, Satan can deceive us, and our own flesh can deceive us. Sin is deceitful (Hebrews 3:13). Our very hearts are “deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9, emphasis added).
The most sobering aspect of this is that any of us can be deceived...and not even know it. You may study God’s Word daily, attend Bible classes faithfully, pray fervently, and still be deceived in a particular area. Or you may be on the opposite side of the spectrum and think everything I am writing is a bunch of hooey! Yet you, too, may be deceived.
These are some ways that you and I may be misled:
- In our actions
- In our beliefs
- In our attitudes
- In our choices
- In our activities
- In our marriage
- In our parenting
- What we allow into our homes
- What we allow into our minds
The list could go on. My conclusion is that I need to pray. I must ask God to open my eyes to the ways that I may be deceived. I need to ask Him what to do about it, and be willing to change. I must pray that I am sensitive to His Spirit as He convicts me of sin and leads me into the truth through His Word (see John 16:8, 13; 17:17).
Will you pray with me that the Lord will remove the scales from our eyes and help us to know if we are being deceived in any area(s)? May we ask Him for the grace and help to follow His truth instead of the lies, whatever the cost.
Find Blessings in His Truth,
Rachel
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