Don’t Believe the Lies

We often talk about “the lie” that the Enemy speaks into the heart of a child living in poverty. The lie is born from relentless defeating messages: “You don’t matter. No one cares about you. There’s no reason to hope. Just give up.”

One of the most powerful things we do is to bring a child out of poverty and into a loving local church where the lie is defeated by God’s truth:

“You are fearfully and wonderfully made. God loves you so much that He gave His only Son to die for you. He has good plans for you—plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Children in poverty are especially susceptible to the lies of the Enemy, but he tries to deceive all of us — and he doesn’t give up as we age. I would guess that, in some form or another, we’ve all heard his pathetic voice.

Maybe you’ve heard it recently. I know I have.

The Enemy wants us to lose hope. He wants us to feel as disempowered and discouraged as the children we’re trying to rescue. We must “stand firm in the faith” and arm ourselves with God’s truth to defeat the lies.

I love the description of the ministry’s “hopeful” personality trait:

“We will never raise a white flag in surrender to the evil raging against us. In the face of extreme poverty, our programs provide hope and conquer despair. We are eternal optimists because we know that the Church will prevail. We lift one another’s spirits with words of encouragement, laughter, prayers, and reminders of God’s promises.”

Let’s continue to boldly speak up for children. Let’s especially continue to speak God’s words of life, love, and promise to the children.

And let’s not forget to speak God’s powerful words of truth and hope to one another as we wage war against the Enemy.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. —1 Peter 5:8–9, NIV

Heavenly Father, our hope is in you. May we hide your words of perfect truth deep in our hearts, drawing joy and wisdom from them as we uplift and encourage one another in the work you have called us to do.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dinah Meyer is an Executive Communications Specialist at the Global Ministry Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Read all the One in Spirit devotionals.