1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”……….9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?“10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
Genesis 3:1-11
Our thoughts are unbelievably powerful, but also, extremely vulnerable. The Great Wall of China was designed to be so high and wide no foreign army could ever breach it. (It can literally be seen from space) Yet, this seemingly insurmountable wall would be breached, not by a warring army, but by something far more subtle and effective. A bribe. The Mongols simply paid off a gatekeeper and in they came. We see Satan is equally as subtle and “crafty” in the Garden. He is called the “father of lies”. He can masquerade as an angel of light. His deception is so strong, he convinced ⅓ of the angels to rebel against Almighty God! What a deceiver!
Science would tell us we think anywhere between 6000-70,00 thoughts per day. While that might be a fairly wide range, most scientists and psychologists would agree that 80% of those thoughts are NEGATIVE. A staggering number. I can’t help but wonder how many subtle lies the enemy sells us on a daily basis? I’d like to suggest we use God’s 3 questions to Adam as a filter for our thought life.
- Where are you?
- Who told you that you were naked?
- Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?
#1 “WHERE ARE YOU?”
In other words, pay attention to the life of your mind. Think about what you are thinking about. In our new world of COVID, we are keenly aware of protocols we need in order to stay healthy and free from toxic germs. (Masks,distancing,sanitizer,etc) Proverbs 23:7 will tell us, “as a man thinks, so is he”. If this is true, then it is critical we police our thought life for toxic thoughts. Think about what you are thinking about.
#2 “WHO TOLD YOU YOU WERE NAKED?”
In other words, what is the source behind your thoughts? 1Corinthians 10:5 commands us to take “every rogue thought captive and conform it to Christ”. There is a violence and vigilance by which we are to guard our minds. The thoughts you think: are they rooted in the word of God or did you get them from somewhere else? If they don’t align with the word- kick ‘em out!
#3 “HAVE YOU EATEN FROM THE TREE OF WHICH I COMMANDED YOU NOT TO EAT?”
Often I find myself believing lies I ‘haven’t heard yet’. We are surrounded by so much background negativity through our social media, music, tv shows, and news outlets, that we subconsciously believe lies we haven’t been told. We come to conclusions that aren’t ultimately true. There are days when I wake up feeling defeated or hopeless. Sometimes I feel a low-grade fear and I don’t know why? Pastor Craig Groeschel says, “you can’t defeat what you can’t define”. When I sense negativity in my life I can’t put my finger on, I need to interrogate my feelings and track it down to the lie behind it all. If I feel defeated, I must ask the question why? Over and over until it brings me to the lie I’m believing. Now I have the power to bring the lie into the light and see it for what it is…..Untrue! Our feelings are fine, but they don’t get to be in the driver seat of our life- that seat is reserved for the Word of God alone. Chase down your negative feelings and identify the lie behind them and the channels they are arriving through.