And Jesus, answering them, began to say “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many.”Mark 13:5-6 NKJV
The devil knows you have authority over him; therefore, he has no real power to harm or destroy you. That’s why he must rely so heavily on deception; it’s the only tool he can use against you. If he can deceive you, then you will likely bring destruction upon yourself.
That’s what he did in the garden when he deceived the woman – by getting her to doubt what God had said:
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of the very tree of the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1 NKJV).
Pride is a tool the enemy uses to open the door to deception. That’s why the Bible says, “Your fierceness has deceived you, the pride of your heart” (Jeremiah 49:16 NKJV), and “The pride of your heart has deceived you” (Obadiah 3 NKJV).
It is your responsibility to watch for pride, and to make sure you are not deceived. You do this by choosing to walk in humility—it’s the only thing that will protect you from deception. Humility can be described as simply choosing to agree with what God’s Word says about everything, whereas pride is the act of exalting your opinion or feelings above what God’s Word says is true.
So how do we choose to walk in humility? By doing what the Bible says:
‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:5-7
As you cast down your own thoughts, reasoning, and worries, and instead take up the Word of God, you will see with fresh vision what God has to say about each area of your life.
So humble yourself, agree with God, and receive the “deception protection” that He has already provided for you in His Word.
Confession: I choose today to turn away from all pride and any exaltation of my own ideas and feelings above the Word of God. I choose instead to walk in humility, agreeing with what the Word of God says about every aspect of my life as I receive God’s protection from the enemy’s deception.
Author: Jerry Savelle