Here’s five lies or accusations the devil loves to tell you. This is what I’ve experienced when there’s a new thing I’m feeling called to do, and I’m wondering about whether to step out in faith with it. I think these five lies are told to stop so many Kingdom advancing projects in their tracks:
You can’t do it
Here is where I find the first attack normally happens – on the level of gifting. The devil loves to make us doubt our capabilities and the gifting that God has given to us.
You can’t do it, so you might as well not bother starting ….
Other people can do it better
The next step is then a little more subtle, but basically still a refinement of the first attack.
Okay, so maybe you could do it, but so many other people can do it so much better than you ever could, so you might as well not bother starting…
No one is interested
So now the attack shifts from being on your abilities, to other people’s responses to those abilities.
Okay, so maybe you could do it, but no one will be interested in it, so you might as well not bother starting…
It won’t make an impact
The fourth is a combination of the attack on your gifting, coupled with the attack on other people’s responses. It’s making you believe that even if others are interested in what you do, it actually won’t make a difference to their lives.
Okay, so people may be interested, but what you are doing is so small, or of such poor quality, or so unimportant, or so essentially irrelevant to the wider situation, that it won’t change anything important in anyone’s life. You might as well not bother starting…
It’s too late
And here’s the final one. If you get through the first four lies and still want to step out in faith on something, it may have taken some time to get to that place. And this is when that final lie gets thrown at you and takes on a large size than it really should.
Okay, so you could have done it, and it could have made an impact, but now it’s too late to make a real impact, so you might as well not bother starting…
As one of my previous church leaders used to say, “when the devil says it’s too late, that’s just the time to start.”
Do you find these to be five lies the devil loves to tell you? Don’t let them hold you back from starting on the work God has called you to.
Mark Williamson works as a director of One Rock. He’s an experienced leadership trainer, author of biographies on John Wesley and William Wilberforce, and is also passionate about praying for London. He enjoys good films, good food, and going for long walks with his wife Joanna. You can follow him on Twitter @markonerock.