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December 21, 2007

Truth is the Only Defense Against Deception

by Shana Schutte

Many years ago when I was a teacher, I watched from an upstairs window at the school where I taught as paramedics arrived within minutes to rescue a man who had driven off the road. It struck me how different things were when I was a girl. Before electronic devices, such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS), paramedics had to know the city they served like the back of their hand. Otherwise, can you imagine what it would have been like if they tried to get directions just from a map? If they were anything like me, they'd be driving around in circles trying to find the way. It would have been total chaos and many people would have died! The paramedics had to know the city mostly by heart so they were ready to respond when accidents happened.

In the same way, if we want to protect ourselves against unbelief and feeling as if God's been unfaithful when our hearts our broken, it's critical to hide God's truth in our hearts before personal devastation and disappointment hit. Otherwise, just like a paramedic who doesn't know the way, we'll panic and scramble, trying to find peace and direction. And if you've done this like I have, you can testify that it's not effective.

When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness after fasting for forty days and forty nights, He showed that the only defense against deception is God's truth. When Satan attacked Christ with lies, Jesus used Scripture from the book of Deuteronomy for protection. Can you imagine what it would have been like if He didn't know the truth? It wouldn't have been a pretty picture if He had to stop and say, "Wait a minute! I've got to go look that up! I think it's somewhere in the Scripture."

"Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17).

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