Deadly Desperation

God knows that I don’t want to be deceived. God says that He would have none deceived.

His Word tells us that we can be deceived when:

• We allow the lusts of our hearts and our fleshly desires to rule our minds and actions.
• We stray from His godly instruction and disobey the laws He has established for holiness.
• We behave as though there is no God.
• We act as though we do not trust or believe God’s Word.
• We trust our choices and decisions without seeking His guidance or direction.
• We use our freewill to do what we want as opposed to what He wants.
• We mistakenly believe He is gifting us with something or someone even when that something or someone opposes His Word.

There are myriad reasons and ways to be deceived. There are as many ways to be deceived as there are women.

The morning after that nurse was found murdered, I prayed on behalf of women worldwide. I asked the Father to increase our discernment, draw us closer, continually teach us His precepts, keep us from harm, and to give us a mechanism that rejects the slightest bit of abuse. The Father reminded me that He has already done all of those things in the work of the Cross and through the sacrifice of His beloved Son, Jesus. And He reminded me that the work of the Holy Spirit is to convict, teach, and warn.

For the first time in my life, my spiritual life, I think I finally understand the verse, “Be anxious (desperate, worried) for nothing and in all things give thanksgiving…” (Philippians 4: 6) I believe I finally understand the wisdom of “seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteous, and all of these things will be given to you…” (Matthew 6: 33) And, I finally get “every good and perfect gift is from above…” (James 1: 17)

It would be ideal if all women, especially saved women, relied on God’s Word for the encouragement and validation we need to avoid deadly and even dishonoring situations. It would be ideal if we decided to accept God’s ideal of love and affection, and accept both directly from Him without defining it for ourselves.