When Distraction Becomes Destruction

"Therefore, My people go into exile because they lack knowledge [of God];" —Isaiah 5:13 AMP

Contrary to what is being said by virtual psychologist’s, tv, and radio ads stating “there is no manual for this thing called life”…isn’t that just like the enemy of our souls? Using people, ignorant people, to try making us believe we don’t have a “life manual”?

We’re all on a journey called “life”. Once you are born, you must take this journey.

In this journey there are pitfalls designed to keep you from completing your journey.

Despite what you’ve heard or contrary to what you may believe, God has given you a map/manual—His Word.

His Word, (“life’s” instructions, playbook, or tasty recipes-yeah, I’m a foody), is designed to reveal to you the pitfalls so that you can make the journey.

What you think about the map, manual, playbook or recipe will have significant impact on how well you do on the journey.

1.      You may choose to disregard this manual and ignore it all together.

2.      You may choose to glance at it seldomly/weekly or maybe a few times out of the year.

3.      Or you may decide this playbook is very essential to complete this game called “life” and don’t want to be sabotaged by what’s on the field undetected.

We have all made decisions in our lives that were unwise and have paid for or are still paying for. You may be bleeding with the consequences from your decision(s) and inquiring from several different sources what to do.

So, let’s start going over this playbook if you are ready to:

1.      deal with or heal from your poor decision making(s) and look at the consequences more deeply and differently

2.      stay away from future ones

3.      learn how God meets you in the consequences you are currently experiencing

The Truth is this: Negative consequences entered life in Genesis Chapter 3.

When our team had made it to the championship games, we assigned certain parents to “scout” out our opposing team players to learn their plays— the strengths and weaknesses of their forwards and fullbacks, who does their throw-ins, and how their strategic plays are. We were out to destroy them to win the championship!

Satan has game-film on you, spiritually speaking. He assigned one of his scouts, a demon, to know all about you. Your strengths, weaknesses, how you responded/reacted in past circumstances, there’s a report on you/us. A tailor-made strategy to kill/destroy you. Even as a believer in Jesus Christ, the devil is a thief trying to steal your peace, joy, and distract you with pitfalls or imitation ingredients for an authentic, tasty dish called LIFE, that will try to defeat you and bring negative consequences into your life. (John 10:10)

There’s Good News….

There’s a Map! A recipe for a sweet journey in life!

The spiritual death contract (manifested in your physical life) on your life is to keep you from LIFE’s journey and living it abundantly.

Here’s the strategy God has given us, in His Word, to SEE the spiritual landmine(s) to handle it (them) more appropriately to avoid the negative consequences. Why do we continue to step on these landmines, trip in these pitfalls or accept imitation ingredients if we don’t need to??

Know your enemy (spiritually speaking). Here’s a little history lesson:

Genesis 3:1 (Amplified Bible version is what I like using to study God’s plan for my life)

♥︎     Now the serpent was more crafty (subtle, skilled in deceit) than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made.

Satan knows what and who to choose to maneuver into your world in order to get your undivided attention (distraction) to have a conversation with him. During this time, I believe Eve was innocent and naïve, so Satan took advantage of her “lack of knowledge”. It seems difficult to believe that Eve would not have been suspicious of a talking creature, but at this point in time Eve probably knew next to nothing about animals; and in any case, the serpent, as it existed before the curse (v 14), was a very different creature from the reptile that is familiar to us today. (Biblegateway.com)

Satan cannot create, so he manipulates. He had to use the God-created (LORD (Jehovah=Our covenantal relationship with God) God (Elohim-Creator=God’s Power/Strength) animal to distract, manipulate, and lie to Eve.

♥︎     And ^[a]the serpent (Satan) said to the woman, “Can it really be that God has said, ‘You shall not eat from ^[b]any tree of the garden’?” 

In the same verse 1, immediately Satan questions God’s authority, deity and makes her question His Lordship by manipulating his words by, 1. Omitting LORD God and just referring as a god, Religion, by diminishing the relationship, the covenant (promises, His faithfulness) relationship God had with Adam and Eve in the Garden (full of delight and happiness). In Genesis Chapter 2, it’s in the Garden of Eden where God settled Adam, created the animals, then formed, brought, and presented Eve to him.

There are so many synagogues and beautifully structured churches built to have religious ceremonies and conduct their best-intended programs, but the reality is this is just religion—just going through the motions. God doesn’t just want our weekly attendance. God is after our hearts. He desires relationship with us. He wants us to know Him, His love for us, and experience us with Him intimately. And you don’t really get to know someone by spending an hour or two once a week or whenever it’s convenient. When you want to know someone, you make time for them. And Satan knows this. He doesn’t mind us going through the motions, if it never leads to knowing the Truth—God wants to experience your life with Him in it.

♥︎     The creature, the LORD God created was a good creature which God had placed under the rule of man. God’s word teaches us that everything God created was good. What Satan does is, he always uses something good to make something bad. Up to this point, everything is good…except Satan. So, Satan used a good creature, that Adam and Eve (men and women) were given the LORD God’s authority to subjugate (to subdue or make submissive) and rule over (dominate). Genesis 1:25 AMP (with my emphasis)

Your Enemy’s Strategy (Here are the pitfalls):

1.     Camouflage and Distraction. He wants you to miss him. Satan and his minions, the devils, will infiltrate and use someone or something that is good and use it for bad to create bad consequences and negative repercussions.

Imagine attending a magic show, where the illusionist presents us a show which causes us to go “wow”. It is because they do something on one side to get our attention, while on the other side, they’re doing something else. They are purposely distracting us from the truth. There are only certain times, God will allow Satan to tell people that he’s there to destroy you, your future. Satan needs God’ permission to do this.

My son experienced one of those times. I believe God has a great future for our son, that Satan nearly destroyed him when he was a teenager. The testimony is not mine to share, but my husband and I are a witness to God’s saving power, His loving mercy on our son’s life. Except for certain circumstances, the devil is crafty and sneaky. He’s a counterfeit. His main goal is to deceive. To be tricked into believing something that is not true. (Humm…doesn’t Hollywood do the same thing?)

One of my favorite pastors gave this example: “It’s like when you receive a credit offer in the mail, making you feel good, then to be trapped in their debt all because you fell for their “preferred or platinum customer” offer. They made something look good, to be tricked and pay the consequences of a bad choice.”

2.     Satan wants you to think God is holding out on you. He wants you to focus on the negative. He paints the image of God to be harsh and unloving or not fun.

♥︎     ⁴ But the serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! ⁵ For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened [that is, you will have greater awareness], and you will be like God, knowing [the difference between] good and evil.” Genesis 3:4,5 AMP

3.     He reduced our LORD God’s command to a question. Satan belittles God’s authority and the impact of disobedience/sin. God’s “NO’s” are so that we may enjoy His “YES’s”.

♥︎    ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely (unconditionally) eat [the fruit] from every tree of the garden; ¹⁷ but [only] from the tree of the knowledge (recognition) of good and evil you shall not eat, otherwise on the day that you eat from it, you shall most certainly ^[h]die [because of your disobedience].” Genesis 2:16,17 AMP

Sadly, and consequentially, when Adam and Eve ate from the ONE TREE, they missed out on ENJOYING ALL the other TREES. God’s No’s are to PROTECT His Yes’s. 

The one sensitive subject is the sanctity of marriage. This is a whole huge lesson, but I’ll just list a couple of things for not following God’s precepts—His playbook:

~      Diseases. Have you noticed the amount of medication the pharmaceutical companies make from those who have sex out of marriage to one husband/wife? Compile it with those who have same-sex partners? That’s just a small portion of harmful physiological consequences! What about the emotional and mental impact it has on them or the people around them, their families, not to mention their financial status? Are these people really happy, enjoying their lives? Contrary to the world’s way/lifestyle, God’s protection affords that one husband with their one wife builds immunity, security, and intimacy to say the least.

~      Ungratefulness. How about comparing spouses? Have you ever complained about the husband/wife God so graciously gave you? Similarly, a child complaining about the one gift they didn’t receive and missing out enjoying all the gifts they did receive? I’ve been there. Now, when I notice myself complaining about a certain thing, I take the thought captive and turn it around to thank God for all that I have or will have, if it’s God’s will. Afterall, He knows what I can or cannot handle. I see this as God’s protection. He’s protecting me from something horrible happening to me or becoming frustrated with it so I can’t enjoy it. So, I’ll just enjoy and be grateful for what I do have.

God’s restrictions are to enhance freedom.

4.     Satan wants the credit for you sinning or making the decision to sin. It puffs him up. We give him power or credit when we don’t take accountability for our own bad choices and say he made us do it. Satan may entice or tempt you to want to sin. He doesn’t have the power to force you to sin.

♥︎     ¹⁵ When He [Christ Jesus] had disarmed the rulers and authorities [those supernatural forces of evil operating against us], He made a public example of them [exhibiting them as captives in His triumphal procession], having triumphed over them through ^[i]the cross. Colossians 2:15 AMP

The death of Christ defeated Satan. Jesus took ALL the power, especially the [spiritual] keys of death, from Satan when He died on the cross and resurrected from the tomb/grave.

~      The devil will entice you in your mind. He will place his thoughts or lies in your mind to convolute it with the truth. He will try to alter your thought pattern to think differently than you ought to. So then, if we think negatively, we end up making decisions influenced by him, not enforced by him. The devil plants his thought into your mind until it becomes your thought.

5. Satan is calling God a liar. He’s projecting himself on God and deceiving Eve. Satan does not want you to trust God. He doesn’t want you to trust God’s Word! If you can’t trust God, then you won’t want to have a relationship with Him.

♥︎     ⁴ By no means! Let God be found true though every human being is false and a liar, as it is written, That You may be justified and shown to be upright in what You say, and prevail when You are judged [by sinful men]. Romans 3:4 AMPC

♥︎     In Genesis Chapter 2: ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely (unconditionally) eat [the fruit] from every tree of the garden; ¹⁷ but [only] from the tree of the knowledge (recognition) of good and evil you shall not eat, otherwise on the day that you eat from it, you shall most certainly ^[h]die [because of your disobedience].”

♥︎     In Genesis Chapter 3: ² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, ³ except the fruit from the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God said, ‘You shall not eat from it nor touch it, otherwise you will die.’” ⁴ But the serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! 

~      Eve added words to God’s command. God didn’t say, “Do not touch it.”. We need to be careful not to add or take away God’s word. We shouldn’t manipulate God’s word to our ideology. We should not water down His precepts. When we alter God’s word, we are making God a liar based on our own thoughts or feelings. I think Eve being naïve to Satan’s schemes, was being infiltrated by the enemy’s lying thoughts.

♥︎     ⁴⁴ You are of your father, the devil, and it is your will to practice the lusts and gratify the desires [which are characteristic] of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a falsehood, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar [himself] and the father of lies and of all that is false. John 8:44 AMPC

~      Sadly, because Eve was distracted by the enemy’s questioning, making her think twice about God’s command by placing lies in her mind, questioning God’s trust and protection for her. Satan had coerced her into believing his lies over God’s truth: eternal damnation, spiritual death.

6. Satan wants you to believe God is selfish. Another attribute or character of Satan projecting onto God. Satan wanted to be God’s equal, so he accused Eve into thinking that God was holding back on her. The truth is Satan was cast out of heaven (with 1/3 of the angels) because He is the one who wanted to be God! (Isaiah 14) Satan wanted to be his own God, independent of The God, Elohim, the great I AM!

♥︎    ⁵ For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened [that is, you will have greater awareness], and you will be like God, knowing [the difference between] good and evil.” Genesis 3:5 AMP

Why would God say in Genesis chapter 1, verses 26 “Then God said, “Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

Why? So, according to Satan, “God doesn’t want you to be His equal, and by keeping you from being God’s equal, He doesn’t want you eating from that tree.

Why? Because then you wouldn’t need God anymore and you will know everything yourself. You will not need God.”

Do you see how Satan twists things around?

Satan rebelled from God because he did not want to answer to God. He wanted to be independent from God. He did not want to submit to God.

~      So, our rebellion is a desire for our independence from God.

o   Because if I’m like YOU (God), and I’m equal to YOU (God), then I don’t have to submit to YOU (God).

Example: If two people are at the same level at work, then one doesn’t get to boss the other. Same with governments. They don’t have to answer to God, if they are like Him.

~      No one, even Satan, can’t ACT like God and be God. God is in a class all by Himself. The great I AM!

~      God will always resist anyone who seeks to be independent of Him with the consequences of their rebellion.

~      God is so much greater than man, that He commanded Israel, “⁴ “You shall not make for yourself any idol, or any likeness (form, manifestation) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth [as an object to worship]. Exodus 20:4 Amp

~      Genesis 2:17 - The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we being like God (created in His image), will decipher what is good and evil in our own eyes, without God. Leaving God out of the discovery of what is good and evil…Discovering your own truth.

The best example I can use is the conflict between parents and teens. When children reach a certain age, wanting their independence, they act like they know everything. Right? The reason why there is so much strife is because they want the authority of a parent. They want to be like a parent. They want to be independent without the responsibility of a Parent. They want the benefits from the Parent (provision, clothing, housing, etc.) but not be told what to do (boundaries). They want the Parent’s covering but want to be free from the Parent.

We are now living in a world of being independent of God, therefore suffering from the consequences of rebellion from God (no longer under His covering).

♥︎     “…you shall most certainly ^[h]die [because of your disobedience].” Genesis 2:17 AMP

              Death is the consequence of sin. Death is the separation from the fellowship with God.

When a physical body dies, the soul leaves the body and is separated from its physical body which makes the body inactive. There are all kinds of deaths we face in life. We are either dying or already dead in certain categories, i.e. economic, relationships, environmental, social…all kinds of deaths, because we ate from the independence tree.

When we say, “I want my data without God, and I will determine what is truth, what is right and wrong, and I will do it independently of God, because I want to be like God. I want to be my own God.” Then we should prepare for the consequences.

So, it doesn’t matter how much money you have, the number and types of degrees you have, the notoriety you have, what success you have, what car you drive, where you live, how big your house is…You cannot be like God! He is in a class all by Himself, and you should submit all of the categories unto Him!

And if you don’t, well then, you’ll suffer the consequences. Dying. Dying with regret. Dying with debt. Dying with relationships. Dying in so many ways, due to the consequences of YOUR sin, rebellion from God’s precepts. His covering.

7. If it FEELs good, do it. Satan’s final scheme with Eve, was deceiving her eyes or her natural/physical senses. He manipulated her to see and desire the tree that was always there but didn’t care to take notice until he pointed it out to her.

♥︎     ⁶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise and insightful, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband ^[c]with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:6

The tree was always good for food, yet God told her not to eat from it, because He knew that evil went with it. Satan distracted her and let Eve see the fruit being good only and not evil.

Satan increased Eve’s physical appetite, her emotional appetite, then her intellectual appetite. When truth, facts, or practicalities conflicts with Devine revelation, we are ignorant. The Bible calls us fools. It doesn’t matter how educated we are. Without God, we are fools.

That’s how deception works. We only see the good part. We cannot see the outcome. And without asking God to be in our decision making, asking Him to show us the imitation ingredients or landmines on our journey and asking for His covering, His truth, His protection—then we err on the side of death. Consequences of sin, rebellion—separation from God’s will.

♥︎    Proverbs 3:5, 6 ⁵Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.⁶ In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.

♥︎    James 1:13-16 ¹³ Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by [what is] evil and He Himself tempts no one.¹⁴ But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions).¹⁵ Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.

If you’re tired of stepping on the landmines of Satan’s deceitfulness and suffering the consequences for them, then surrender everything to God. Open your heart and start reading the Bible—your life’s instruction manual and ask Him to show you His Truth. Invite Jesus in every decision, to discern the truth of the matter, and He will direct and make your path straight.

💕 Enjoy your journey!