I’ve Been Deceived!

A word of caution before you read on: this is not a blog post for everyone. This is a post for people who’ve been lied to by someone they loved or trusted.

Have you ever been deceived by someone you loved? Have you ever felt so surrounded by lies, so entrenched in deception, caught in such a sticky web that you cried out in panic, in rage, in frustration? Has sorting the truth from lies ever felt like trying to find a single blade of grass on the lawn of an English estate?

Then, this post is for you.

Loved ones, we live in a time where the air we breathe is now part nitrogen, part oxygen and part deception. Paul referred to Satan as ruling the “kingdom of the air” and these are days when it does, indeed, feel as though people swallow deep, gulping breaths of deception.

It’s like an odorless gas, undetectable to many, that when inhaled rends the breather subject to delusions and addicted to lies. It tempts some of us, who know the purified air of truth, to despair. It can make ancient scripture sound like headlines from today’s news:

 “They make ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies; it is not by truth that they triumph in the land. They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me,” declares the LORD. Beware of your friends; do not trust your brothers. For every brother is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer. Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sinning.” Jeremiah 9:3-5

We all know people who dabble in lies but every day, more and more of us share tables or cubicles or beds with those who have become masters in the art of deception. When that deception is revealed, it can drop us to our knees, drain us of spirit, leave us breathless on the floor wishing there were a number to call for resuscitation of the soul.

And we grow weary of trying to speak truth to those who are under the influence of deception. Jesus explained it this way:

“Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!” John 8:43-45

People lie for many reasons. To hide their sins. To hide their addictions. To hide their adultery. To manipulate and to use others. Liars can make you feel like you’re the crazy one. Liars force you to call on every mental and emotional resource simply to navigate a single conversation without falling into their snare.

Does it sound like I speak from experience?

This post is not for everyone today. Today, I write for those who are exhausted from sorting through the lies. Those who despair that their loved one or acquaintance will ever speak an honest word. Those who are tempted to wonder if deception is not stronger than truth and love in this world.

It isn’t.

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” I John 4:4 This is true.

Too often we try to confront liars with our own words and with human strength. Much of the battle against deception happens through prayer before we ever open our mouths.

It is a spiritual battle and so we must battle the spirit of deception through prayer and scripture. We must fortify ourselves with truth and attune our own hearts to the voice of the Holy Spirit because dealing with deceivers is like taking a hike through a minefield –

But the Holy Spirit knows the way.

There are times to separate ourselves from deceivers. There are times to show them the love of Christ. There are times to offer them a steady assault of the truth and there are times when we must rest from the battle and recover from our wounds. Only the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ can take us through this battle. We bushwhack our way through deception but the Holy Spirit can be our guide.

If this blog post was for you today, let me encourage you that you are not alone. It is really this hard. It is truly this exhausting. You are only human so you will be tempted to quit, to despair, to yield, to doubt yourself, to doubt the truth, to let your love grow cold. It does require superhuman strength to go on.

But Jesus can supply that strength. The Word of God is TRUE. The love of Christ is TRUE. He is stronger than deception and deceivers and He lives within you. Press in to Him and hold firm.

There are strong words in this post but those who deal in deception need truth served up in ice cold buckets of water, sometimes applied over their heads. Love and truth are not soft or brittle weapons as deceivers would have you believe. God is love and He will prevail. Truth is a sword against which no lie will stand forever.

If you need a fellow warrior to pray for you in the battle and you feel alone where you are, leave word on this blog or email me or message me on Facebook or just ask the Lord to speak your name to my heart.

I am not strong but I know the One who is the source of strength and you can find renewed strength in Him, too.