Don’t Believe the Devil

“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 NIV

In a heartbreaking story titled “Norwegian marathon runner dies aged 39 as brother shares on Facebook eating disorders are a 'terrible illness,’” it was reported that marathon runner, Marthe Katrine Myhre, died at the age of 39. Her brother Anders Myhre announced her death on Facebook. He wrote on his sister’s Facebook walk on behalf of his family saying: “We all have a body, we are all different. For you, your body became very difficult at the age of 15. Within a few weeks, you were completely trapped in a terrible illness. “Three hospitalizations and over a year of total bed rest were the start of many, many challenging years. Eating disorders are a terrible illness”. He wrote that Myhre was found dead in his childhood home and that a doctor confirmed that it was a natural death. He added: “Rest in peace, our dear daughter, sister, aunt and sister-in-law”.

And, you know, as someone who developed an eating disorder in their early teens myself, I can tell you now upon looking back that the root cause of this unsound and disordered thinking has a deeply spiritual cause. You see, Satan was and still is “more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.” And he’s still whispering lies into the ears of God’s children wanting them to doubt what God says about them. The truth is the Bible assures us of God’s great love for us, saying that we are His creation, His handiwork, and we are made in His image (Genesis 1:27–28; Psalm 139; Ephesians 2:1–10). And because of that, our identity is in Christ and not in what the world says we are or should be. Furthermore, our value is not based on how we look regardless of the attempts of the devil to tell us otherwise—and to then lead us down a path of self hatred and harm. 

So don’t buy into the lies of the enemy my friend. Commit to memory the promises of God and, following the example of Jesus, combat the enemy’s attacks by saying, “Not today devil. It is written…” and then share what the Bible says about your value and your identity (Matthew 4:1-11). The enemy will try to distort the Truth but he won’t be successful when you know what God REALLY said!

Heavenly Father, thank You for the Word that allows us to battle our enemy and shine the light on his lies. Lord, help us to remember that the devil is relentless in his mission to destroy us and will do it however he can. Which means we must be studied up and prayed up at all times. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!