If there is one thing we can say about Satan it would have to be his playbook hasn’t changed since the time of the Garden of Eden. A. W. Pink shared the following statement that I think is spot on concerning the great lie of the devil: “Satan is ever seeking to inject that poison into our hearts to distrust God’s goodness – especially in connection with his commandments. That is what really lies behind all evil, lusting and disobedience. A discontent with our position and portion, a craving from something which God has wisely held from us. Reject any suggestion that God is unduly severe with you. Resist with the utmost abhorrence anything that causes you to doubt God’s love and his loving-kindness toward you. Allow nothing to make you question the Father’s love for his child.”1
And if the devil can get you to doubt God’s love for you he has accomplished his mission of putting a giant wedge between us and God. For you see when we distrust God’s great love for us we are basically committing the great sin of dishonoring God. John MacArthur sums up why this distrust of God’s love is no small sin when he says: “For some reason, we think of doubt and worry as ‘small’ sins. But when a Christian displays unbelief…or an inability to cope with life, he is saying to the world, ‘My God cannot be trusted,’ and that kind of disrespect makes one guilty of a fundamental error, the heinous sin of dishonoring God. That is no small sin.”2
I find in my own life when these doubts of God’s love for me come up the best antidote to cast these wicked thoughts from my mind is to look to the cross of Calvary and meditate on the fact that it was at the cross that Jesus died for all of my sins, including this sin of doubt. Not only that but Christ’s sacrificial death for me is the ultimate sign of His love for me. My friends Satan is a liar and the father of lies. So the next time he tries to cause you to doubt Christ’s love for you turn your thoughts to the cross where Jesus demonstrated the ultimate in love for you and me.
And never forget it was my sins that put Jesus on the cross and it was His love for me that kept Him there until Christ paid the penalty, that I deserved, so that I could be reconciled back to God. So the next time Satan tries to cause you to doubt or trust God, I challenge you to call him out for the liar that he is and fix your mind on the cross – where God’s ultimate love was poured out for you and me!
The timing of this devotional message could not be more appropriate for me. His love is infinite. In times of doubt and despair I need only re read Romans 8:28. All things work together for those who love God… Thank you Mr. Blatman.