1 Sneaky Lie from Satan that we Actually Believe by Holly Gerth

1 Sneaky Lie from Satan that We Actually Believe An excerpt from Do You Know You're Already Amazing? A cool breeze brushes Eve’s cheek as she walks through the Garden of Eden with her husband and her God. She breathes in a deep sigh of contentment. Life is good. She feels no self-consciousness, worry or fear. She is loved. She is content. She is safe . The next day she hears an unfamiliar voice as she picks fruit. “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1). No one has ever questioned God before! She says to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die'" (Gen. 3:2–3). Perhaps she expects this explanation to satisfy the snake. But he continues, "You will not certainly die. … For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:4–5). We know how the rest of the story goes. Eve eats and paradise is lost. But what lie entrapped her heart? What did she believe? When I read this story, one phrase jumps out at me: "you will be like God" (v. 5). In other words, you’re not enough as you are. And with that lie comes a sinister implication: God is holding out on you. Ironically, it’s the same reason the serpent fell. Not content with his identity or position in heaven, he grasped for all of God’s glory and lost everything. He’s still trying to drag God's daughters down with him. When I talk with women as an author, counselor, life coach and friend, I hear the lie Eve believed repeated so often. And I’ve heard it in my own heart as well. The enemy has not changed his tactics much since the beginning of time. That one lie has a variety of versions: You’re not lovable enough. You’re not good enough. You’re not beautiful enough. You’re not smart enough. You’re not successful enough. But all of those expressions have the same message. Somehow, in some way, we must be lacking. Who God has made us and what he has given us are not really adequate. That can seem true because we were once all sinners in need of a Savior. But once we give Jesus our lives, he restores all that was lost in the fall. We are enough because Jesus is enough in us. When the enemy tries to convince our hearts that’s not true, what can we say in response? He started his temptation of Eve with, "Did God really say … ?" I believe we defeat him by answering with "Here’s what God really does say. …" That’s the tactic Jesus used when the devil tempted him, and we can follow his example. For example, when we hear the lie, "You are not enough," we can answer with what God says to us through Scriptures like these: I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Ps. 139:14) His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life. (2 Pet. 1:3) Part of the armor of God is "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17). You don’t have to act defenseless. You are a woman. You are a warrior. You wield God’s Truth, and it cannot be overcome.

Do You Know You're Already Amazing? by Holley Gerth © 2016. Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Used by permission.