Do Not Talk to the Serpent

So this one is more directed at me, but feel free to jump on board…

You know what really frustrates me? When self-doubt keeps me from saying or doing something that I know I’m supposed to. Whether it’s something instructed in scripture, or that I feel God prompting, too often I get right up to the time to take action and don’t. At which point I’m discouraged and disappointed in myself.

The reason doubt is so frustrating to me is that it’s literally the oldest trick in the book. On page 2 of my Bible, Adam and Eve are in the Garden of Eden, in perfection, perfect relationship to creation, to one another and God. Then, Eve finds herself face to face with Satan who plants the seed of doubt the same way he is still doing today.

‘Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” ‘
Genesis 3:1

There you have it! Four simple words that are as effective today as they were that day, “Did God really say?”

It attacks our pursuits of living the full lives offered to us by Jesus (John 10:10).

Did God Really Say……

• Live Generously
• Above all, Love God and Love Your neighbor
• Welcome the outsider
• Deal with the plank in your eye before pointing out the speck in someone else’s

It also, and possibly more importantly, attacks our identity….

Did God Really Say……..

• You are chosen
• You are a masterpiece
• You are fearfully and wonderfully made
• You are forgiven

The fact is YES HE DID! However, it’s our nature to drift from these truths and when doubt arises, we let it drag us wherever it wants. Which is the reason it is crucial that we are shaped and rooted in how God speaks of us in scripture. It’s the only thing that will endure. What’s cool today won’t be in twenty years (seriously, go find a picture of you in 2000), but the reality of the life God wants for you and who you are in His eyes is unchanging. It just takes you believing it.

‘Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.’

Colossians 2:7