In reviewing some old files I just came across a note I shared with a friend about something I learned regarding how deception and the lie of the enemy can try to destroy us and take us off course; off of our destined path. I trust this will encourage you as you take in the wisdom behind my words and apply them to your personal life.
April 2005 (and just a true today - 2 Dec 2012)
"I just took a class were we went through some powerful scriptures on how God showed His desire to spend intimate time with several people in the Bible - beginning with Adam and Eve. When they hid themselves and God called them out, He asked "Where are you" He already knew. God wanted to begin a dialog with Adam, to invite him and Even to come out of hiding and come into the light of His presence!
The enemy came in with his lies, Adam and Eve bought into them, causing the lies to be born in them and they began to believe;
Lie 1: that they were not good enough as they were created; you can be like God, and God did not want you to eat of that tree that would make you like Him, and the reason must be that He doesn't want you like Him; therefore there must be something wrong with you! You are not as good as God, God must be holding something back from you.
Lie 2: they sewed fig leaves together to hide their shame, nakedness and fears.
The truth was that they were with God! They had life with them and all that was pure and holy and they ran from Him. We do the same thing in many ways. We hide behind our own fig leaves. We run from the very One who loves us, who already knows what is it we are going through and how to fix it! And yet we opt to run away from His presence, into further darkness and destruction instead of running into the light of His Presence!!
After a few more examples similar to that, our attention was called to the movie The Lion King, were a visual example could be seen.
Using your spiritual imagination;
See Mufasa as the image of God the Father
The baboon Rafiki as the image of the Holy Spirit
Scar - Mufasa's brother as the image of Satan
Simba could be the image of any of us - the offspring - heir to the Kingdom.
... the clips I did see clearly gave a visual for how deception can come from those close to us, being used of the enemy. I loved the part where Simba is with Rafiki, just after seeing the image of his dad in the water and he tells Refiki he cannot go back because of some things he did in the past and then Rafiki smacks Simba on his head with a stick!! Simba asks "what did you do that for?" and Refiki answers "what does it matter, it's in the past".
I am still smiling from that. That point was used to let us see the power of the lie of sin. The enemy tries to hold it (an action now distorted and blown out of proportion - the Lie) over our head, where the TRUTH is that Jesus paid the price for it on the Cross at Calvery and we NOW have the grace to walk in the newness of His Forgiveness!
Another things was that Simba had forgotten who he was, but Rafiki knew and told him "You are Mufasa's son". And then the image of Mufasa said to Simba "you have forgotten me, by forgetting who YOU are. You are more than you have become. Remember who you are!" POWERFUL!! How many times do we buy into the lies of the current situations and circumstances and forget who we are and more importantly, we forget who our Father is - El Elyon, Most High. Jehovah. God, Almighty.
One more thing about the Lion King; it showed a visual parallel between Simba's character and us; as with Simba, our own weaknesses, inabilities and fears causes a distorted belief system and causes us to ran away, trying to find LIFE in something away from the pain and reality. True, Simba was disobedient to his dad and went somewhere he was told not to go (buying into the dare (LIE) of his uncle, who played on his innocence and knew the mind of a curious child would get the best of him, as well as appealing to his adventure by telling him the place was an elephant grave yard. Simba was told because he was disodience he was the cause of his dad being killed and he was led to believe (the lie) that his mom would not forgive him for it.
But God does, each and every time, leverage those things in our own "valley of the shadow of death" experiences for His glory each and every time. And it even works out for our good!" (end quote)
Remember the power that you have inside of you stand on the truth, denying the lie any access. You are Powerful through Christ who is within you.
"He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have not might he increases strength." Isaiah 40:29
Be IN Courage.
Linda Michelle
