Satan was a murderer from the beginning and has nothing to do with the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  John 8:44

Satan is a storyteller and a liar.  His default language is lies which means he speaks it instinctively. Satan lives and breathes falsehood.  In our justice system, someone is considered innocent until proven guilty.  But with the devil, the paradigm is flipped.  

If he whispers his version of my story in my ears, and I believe it, I will be tormented.  He will say anything to put me in dead-end thinking.  He’ll attempt to corrupt my trust in God. “See, your faith is in vain. God can’t be trusted. You’re foolish to believe His promises.  They’re not for you.”  If the relationship is fractured, I am vulnerable to his next set of lies.   

How can I know if I’ve succumbed to the enemy’s re-write of my own story?  I look for the feelings that point to lies: despair, hopelessness, depression, unresolved anger, and futility, these are just a few.  I need to be on guard and remember that life presents one sifting exercise after another.  Thoughts come in ~ I examine them ~ and I decide to keep them or throw them away.

I used to believe that an event or a person could ruin my life. It wasn’t true. They can cause pain, but it will be my interpretation of the event and my interpretation of their words that potentially puts me in long-term bondage. Jesus was never trapped by futility and despair.  Though He suffered more than any human being, He never believed lies about his pain. He knew that everything He suffered was redemptive and led to glory.  

I need to figure out where I’ve been lied to and renounce it.  I will have a list of things to discard.  In prayer, I will be making a confession to Jesus, “I used to believe ‘this,’ but I repent and renounce it.  Now, I believe ‘this.” It’s an exchange of the enemy’s lie for God’s truth.  The devil’s stronghold is broken, the torment from the lie is removed, and peace moves in.