May I ask you for a moment to imagine a scene: a man lost in the desert. He is hot and thirsty; each step is arduous; each hour is dehydrating. Eventually, he has misleading thoughts and he imagines an oasis at the top of the next hill. He pictures drinking the cool, clear water, and that thought energizes him to press onward, to climb that sandy hill so that he might quench his thirst.. He pictures gulping in the water and even immersing himself in it. But when he gets to the top of the hill there is no oasis. His mind has tricked him, his imaginations have misled him. There is nothing to drink but only more miles of hot desert. “A deluded heart has led him astray” as it says in Isaiah 44:20.
Now imagine coming along side this man as he is climbing toward his imagined oasis, his imagination full of images of fresh drinking water. You try to tell him, “you need to stop climbing this hill!” Your words would fall on deaf ears, wouldn’t they? His mind is so consumed with thoughts of water that he would block out all voices to the contrary and continue his journey up the hill. We can imagine him gritting his teeth and saying to himself ‘I know what’s best for myself and my reasoning is right. I will block out anything in my mind that stops my will to get to the top of this hill and drink that water!” Notice the focus on himself and his own point of view!
Well, now let’s come alongside the man climbing in the desert, open up our thermos filled with water, and say “Here, have a drink of this refreshing water!” Watch him grasp it and gulp it down, the water spilling all over his face. When he comes up for air we say, “Your mind has been playing tricks on you! That ‘oasis’ you are seeing in your mind is a mirage, it doesn’t actually exist. But come with me over to that patch of trees, which is where I got this water from, and you can have all the clean, fresh water you want.” How fast will he ditch his mirage for the real thing!
Dear friend, our mindset is determined by that on which we are feeding. Let’s look at Isaiah 44:20 again and see that being led astray is not the only consequence of having ‘a deluded’ heart:
He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand? Isaiah 44:20 ESV
Here we see that if we feed on ashes we will eventually get to the place where we do not know that we are believing lies. All our self-condemnation, our fears, regrets and shame, all our lies! But if we rehearse those lies enough we might come to believe them. Then we are unable to say to ourselves, 'Is there not a lie in my right hand?'" This is why in order to get free of distressing thoughts and depression, we must examine everything we believe in light of God's Word.
When we travel through a valley of sadness, we can be vulnerable to lies that the enemy puts in our minds, and if we rehearse and repeat them enough times, they can become thought-strongholds.
Can you ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to yourself today and every day, "What am I believing that has come from the mouth of the enemy, the world or my flesh rather than from the truth of God's Word?" As it says in 2 Corinthians 10:5b (NLT): “...capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). By counteracting each lie by believing the truth of God’s word, we can speak and preach this word back to ourselves in the light of the powerful gospel of Jesus Christ. Let’s look at three examples now:
Enemy’s lie (listening to ourselves):
"I have had these struggles for as far back as I can remember, therefore I can never change. My situation is hopeless"
"If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17)
"God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope!" (1 Tim. 1:1)
Talking to ourselves as Gospel believers:
“Since Jesus’ death and resurrection paid for every one of my sins, my old self has been buried at the cross and I am now a new creation in Christ. As I look to Jesus at the cross I will see hope.”
2. Enemy’s lie (listening to ourselves):
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, [4] even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love [5] he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,” Ephesians 1:3-5 (ESV)
Talking to ourselves as Gospel believers:
“God only wants me to see myself as He sees me. Because Jesus became my righteousness at the cross, God sees me as flawless, blameless and totally worthy as His beloved chosen child. He will hold me fast.”
3. Enemy’s lie (listening to ourselves): "The gospel might work for others, but my situation is different. I feel so alone. My problem is worse, my chains are tighter, what I deal with is so much worse than others."
"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (9) Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings" (1 Peter 5:8-9)
"For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”" (Isaiah 41:13, ESV)
Talking to ourselves as Gospel believers:
“I am not the only one who has this struggle as all believers deal with "the same kind of sufferings" and the cure is always the gospel of grace. Jesus is at my right hand now and I am never alone.”
Question 3. In the above examples, is there a thought that you identify with more than others, or perhaps there is one you are experiencing that is not mentioned? Please share. If you don't know a way to counteract a particular thought with God's Word, then please ask your mentor here and they will be happy to help.
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David writes, "In 1 Peter 5:8-9 I can see how in my personal darkness satan can feed me lies that I believe and that is all I focus on. But it also says if I stand firm in Christ I will have success against the darkness of the enemy as those that came before me have struggled through the same lies. But I have to be alert and sober to decide to not listen to the lies!!!"
Tori writes, "The one I identify with more than others was the first one, of that I will never change and that I feel worthless. I am not good enough also is a thought, and I am different and weird. But those are all lies! I am fearfully and wonderfully made, my righteousness is in Christ, I am clothed strength and dignity, God is changing me to be the righteousness of Christ, he is making all things new, he loves me just as I am and sees me as his beloved flawless son! Jesus and God so loved me that they chose me!"
Carnell writes, "I can relate to all of them. In my darkness of depression satan feeds me lies that i tend to focus on. As i dwell on the word of God it is life giving and I will have success over the enemies lies."
Wendy writes, "Satans lie: No one could ever understand how I feel. I am unique. No one understands. Not even Jesus, because he was a man and I am a woman and was a wife. Truth: God made me. He knows every detail about me and Jesus experienced the same as I did, even more so, being separated from His Holy Father in the Cross."