Perception & Reality

“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” – Genesis 3:4-5

“Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not…Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings.” – Psalm 17:5, 8

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” – II Corinthians 11:3

Scripture Reading: Genesis 3:1-20

It’s been said that perception is reality. That’s an interesting thought, but frankly, I don’t buy it. While it’s tempting to think that you or I can define our own truth, weave our own wisdom, and render our own reality, that very premise was disastrously bought by Eve back in the garden of Eden. It didn’t end well then, and I don’t believe it bodes any better for us today.

When the serpent approached Eve in Genesis 3, he immediately went to work on her perception of God, and with just a few clever drops of deception, that seed of doubt quickly grew into a root of bitterness (Hebrews 12:15).

The premise was simple – God can’t be trusted (Genesis 3:4-5). He doesn’t give you His best, and He doesn’t know what’s best for you. Satan played on some character traits in Eve that still lurk in our DNA today. He played on her need for control, her need to feel that she could understand everything on her own terms, and her desire to be so self-sufficient that she didn’t need God (much less a man) to provide for her. And by assigning reality to Eve’s flawed perception, Satan pulled off an incredible con job in the Garden of Eden. He got Eve to doubt the goodness of God, the plan of God, and her place in it (Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 2:10).

Satan’s tactics haven’t really changed all that much, and he still tries to pull that same con job on women like you and me. He tries to make us believe that our destiny is in our own feeble hands, or that our future is already a foregone conclusion because of what someone else has done to us, or because of the cards that “fate” (the buzz-word used by the world to deny God’s sovereignty) has dealt us. Lies, lies, and more lies (John 8:44, I Corinthians 1:21, 3:19).

Is Satan messing with your perception of God today? If so, let me lay out the truth. God is not holding out on you (Psalm 34:8, 84:11,Romans 8:32). You are not stuck or trapped or doomed to failure. If you have accepted Christ as your Savior, you are a Child of the King, and the apple of His eye (Psalm 17:8, 77:8-10, I John 3:1). If Eve had realized she was the apple of God’s eye, if she had only remembered how precious and loved and cherished she was, she wouldn’t have seen anything worth having in the fruit that Satan offered.

And let me remind you of the reality of your enemy (I Peter 5:8). Don’t believe the hype. While you must always be aware of his persistence, don’t allow him to distort your perception of him. In reality, he is just another one of God’s created beings (Romans 1:25, I John 3:20, 4:4). He is not anywhere close to being equal with God, and he can be overcome.

As women, we have a need to process our thoughts and emotions, and it’s a process that Satan always tries to contaminate. Sometimes we process internally, and Satan tries to poison our thoughts with doubts, paranoia, criticism, and insecurity. Sometimes we process externally by talking with others. Satan will try to contaminate this process, too, turning our conversation into gossip, backbiting, and negative reinforcement, (the equally effective and direct opposite of positive reinforcement).

My advice to you – always process your emotions through prayer. When circumstances are beyond your understanding, and you’re tempted to doubt God’s goodness, get a grip on reality, by getting a hold on His promises (Romans 12:2). Don’t let your emotions, your ambitions, your pride, or your insecurities be the perception that defines your reality. God is Who He says He is. He does what He promises to do (Hebrews 11:6). And you can trust Him with everything and in everything that concerns you (Psalm 27:1, 138:8, Proverbs 3:5-6).

YOUR PRESCRIPTION

Don’t be afraid to take your doubts and your questions to God. He wants to speak to your fears and show you the reality of Who He is. Process your emotions, your concerns, and your questions through prayer, and God will honor your desire to seek Him in your situation.