One time I was relating to my former pastor the details of a situation. My frustration in the matter was that I had not seen the reality of the thing before it had gotten out of hand. He said in his gentle way, “deception is very deceiving”. While that may sound rather odd and obvious, I wonder if like me you have been deceived. In fact, it is one thing to be deceived by a person but to deceive ourselves is even worse. The Bible warns us that this can happen “the heart is wicked above all things even to the deceiving of itself”.
As we make our way in these days unlike what most of us have experienced, we need to be able to discern the truth from deception. But as my pastor friend shared, it would not be deception if it was bold and clear. Then we would immediately know that it was not correct. Deception is subtle, often appearing at first to be something we actually want.
This was brought home to me during our recent winter storm. Normally we get ice and broken power lines. To have light, fluffy snow is rare indeed. But snow, it did. At first you are caught up in the beauty of the individual flakes falling softly on the ground. Then as it begins to collect you have visions of snowmen and ice cream. You sit wistfully beside the window and admire the handiwork of creation. A few short hours later, perhaps even a day or so, reality sets in. What you thought was a wonderful playground of adventure you realize is nothing more than standing water and muddy paths. Water so cold it is painful to put your hands in.
What happened? The snow looked like it was going to be this beautiful scenery for me to enjoy and a playground like no other for the children. But it was deceptive. What lay beneath the fluffy covering was a condition that would be many days overcoming. First the snow melts and runs off the house making a small river around the house. Then you find that the ground has become so saturated with moisture that unless the sun shines continually for many days, it will be weeks before the yard is dry enough to walk across. Suddenly the joy you initially felt viewing the soon fades with the knowledge of all you will have to clean up as the ground dries.
Life can be like that at times. Things appear to be just what you were wanting. But it takes a heart trained to hear the FATHER’S voice to know if this is the answer or a deception. Will this bear the fruit of peace and righteousness in your life or a mess to clean up later.
The Holy Spirit wants to tune our ears (hearts) to the frequency of the FATHER’S voice, and HIS alone. Only as we begin to develop Kingdom ears and eyes will we be able to avoid the deceptive traps the enemy has set for our souls. The Word of God admonishes us to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Wisdom knows what deception looks like. Wisdom knows the truth of the phrase, “everything that glitters is not gold”. It takes discipline and much training on our part to learn the difference between glitter and gold , truth and deception.
Hope to see you in a TEA Room soon,
Elizabeth Foy