ICS Daily Devotions
Have You Been Deceived?

Nahum1:7 (NKJV) The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.

There is a tendency for us to be upset and resentful when something bad happens to us or the people that we know. Although it is normal for us to ask questions like “Why do bad things happen to good people?”, and “Why can’t God stop them or do something about them?”, one of the worst attitudes we can have is to blame God, accuse Him as evil, or as the source of our suffering. Instead, we should have the conviction that God is good, and He is the stronghold where we can take refuge. We should have faith that His eyes are on the righteous, and He will deliver us from the adversity, even though the deliverance process may take months and even years.

James 1:16-17 (NKJV) Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

There are Christians who have been deceived by the devil who is the father of lies. They have been deceived into thinking that God is the source of all their sufferings, so that He can punish and torment them for their sins. They have believed the lies that the sovereignty of God causes Him to do whatever He likes, He is angry with them, and is waiting for an opportunity to punish them by giving them tribulations in life.

Romans 8:35 (NKJV) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

How can the same God who entered into a covenant with Abraham so that He could send forth the Messiah to establish an everlasting covenant with us, in order that His love will be inseparable from us, be the source of our suffering? Similarly, God cannot be giving us the assurance that tribulation and distress will not separate us from His love, while simultaneously be the source of our suffering. It is a deception that many have bought into because some of us have had to perform to earn the love of our earthly parents or the approval of those we respect, and we’ve believed the lie that God is against us. Have you ever entertained these thoughts? Do you think that God is the angry judge who judges your life daily, waiting for you to make a mistake and torment you accordingly? If you have had these thoughts, you have been completely deceived by the devil, because nothing can be further than the truth. Scripture tells us that every good and perfect gift is from above. God did not just resolve the issues that enslaved us, He also gave us a new position and the ability to overcome in Christ.

Sermon Series: Friends (Part 2) – Facing Test, Trials and Tribulation with Our Friends