When The Whisper Trolls Roll

Few of us will ever forget the time we watched the film The Passion of The Christ. The sheer magnitude of Christ's sufferings left most viewers speechless and many breathless. As difficult as this movie is to watch, one scene in particular caused my heart to stand up and cheer. In the Gethsemane garden scene, Jesus trembles on his knees, fearing what is soon to come and He freezes up when He spots Satan—the representation of all that is immoral— peering down at Him.

There is this conversation: The Devil asks the Son of God, “Do you really believe that one man can bear the full burden of sin?” Jesus turns away and tells God, “Shelter me, Oh Lord. I trust in you.”

And then, continuing his accusations, Satan says, "Saving their souls is too costly." And Jesus says to the Father, " Not my will, but yours be done."

This dialogue perfectly encapsulates the entire cosmic drama of the crucifixion: God became man in order to redeem humanity from our slavery to sin and to Satan. In doing so, Jesus must face the same temptations you and I face. So while Jesus agonizes about His impending death, Satan tempts Him to abandon His mission and redeem the world's sins.

Meanwhile, another presence lurks in the garden that night- a snake. While Jesus is praying, a serpent, symbolizing Satan, slithers toward the Son of God to make a deadly strike. But then, at last second, with eyes fixed, Jesus rises to His feet and with one step crushes the head of the serpent - a step that defines destiny. A prophetic moment. A moment that symbolizes the victory that is soon to come. He will crush the head of the serpent. Satan will be defeated.

(photo of Sassy at the Pet Smart in Alabaster, AL)

Commercial Interlude: Ladies, have you ever been around a snake? Well let me hone in on a detail about me. I do not like them. Rats, I am also not a fan of. So when Jesus stood to His feet and stomped the serpent's head, I was elated.

But Gethsemane is not the first time Jesus has faced the serpent. When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He too, went into the wilderness. There He was tested and tempted by Satan. In Jesus's wilderness season we learn an extremely important wilderness skill: Jesus shows us how to stand against the lies and deceptions of the enemy.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.  “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.  “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. Mathew 4:1-11

When Christ was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, each temptation came back to one thing: DOUBT. If you will notice, every time Satan speaks he begins his question with the word if.

If you are the Son of God, then

If you will worship me...

Doesn't that ole snake do the same thing with you and me? When I found out I was engaged to a con-artist and drug addict that I met in church... I heard:

If God really loved you He would wouldn't want you alone?

If God is really good then He wouldn't allow His daughter especially not one that doesn't deserve heartbreak. To be heartbroken.

If God is your Heavenly Father, why would He allow your earthly father to fall for the fake?

If You really are Christian, shouldn't you be living in blessing?

If your Father owns a cattle of a thousand hills, why are you counting coins to find a meal today?

Now I fell deep into the depressions of the heartbreak and for a few months I really questioned my faith in my wilderness. I felt like I did nothing to deserve the trauma in my life that had happened and much like the Devil- He gets you when you are down. One thing after the other had me questioning my faith.

True Story: At times in my life, I have been what you would call a slave to fashion or designers. Shopping can be a problem for me. Some girls emotionally eat... I emotionally spend. Jesus and I are working on this.

So a few years ago I had a major fashion crush on a new purse. Problem A: my budget could not afford this specific purse. Problem B: my budget could not afford this specific designer purse. But, let me just say I loved this bag. I would go sit at the department store and stare at it. Sometimes I would ask the lady behind the counter if I could see it and carelessly put it on my shoulder and ponder if I really needed to pay rent that month. Images of my homeless self with a designer bag would send me out the door empty handed.

Then a friend of mine kindly informed me that I could probably buy the bag on the Internet at a much cheaper price. I'm so for a bargain. So now, empowered with my shopping scoop, I surfer droves of bags on eBay until I discovered one that was identical to the bag I had been eyeing in the store. I bought that bad boy faster than Kanye West changes sunglasses. But, I did discover a major bummer to online shopping. There is no instant-gratification-wear-the-bag tonight thrill. So, I waited a few days for the UPS guy to deliver my new bags. Giddy, I ripped the package open only to discover I had been fashion pranked.

It was soooooooo counterfeit. Sitting there fake as a tan in January. Because I'd seen, touched and tried on the "real thing" enough times to know a fraud a mile away.

Here is my point ladies- to spot a lie you must know the truth.

When in a wilderness season (i.e. hurting, lonely, sad, depressed), you and I make one easy target for Satan and his lies. Please note: the snake is sneaky.

A woman in a wilderness can "hunger" for so many things that make her prime for temptation, such as love, affection, attention, affirmation, stress relief, or even escape from pain. I tell you this in warning: carefully consider what you are thinking about. If you are going through a tough time and find yourself experiencing tormenting thoughts or strong temptations, you may very well be dealing with a snake in the grass.

A few years ago I was in a wilderness season after just ending an engagement with a man I met in church. A few weeks after getting engaged at a local mega church- I found out not only was he lying about his identity & suspiciously other illegal activities, but he was also dealing and using drugs. Satan took full advantage of my pain and my hunger for love being close to thirty to heap lies and accusations on me. Here are a few words:

God does not want you to have a husband or a family.

You are never going to find anyone to date you let alone marry you. You are getting old and there are few men out there.

You can never tell anyone about this break up they are going to think its all you because you are single and always have been single.

All those good deeds you do each day and helping others do not matter. You call yourself a Christian- Looks like YOUR Jesus would love you enough to want you to be happy. He does not care about you.

You should numb your pain and thoughts at night with alcohol.

Your own earthly father just wants to write you off in marriage- he loved (him) your Heavenly Father is a representation of earthly fathers love. Its you that no one wants.

Who cares if you are dead.

In six years- I have had to wake up every morning and silence the snake to this time in my life and to all of the raining and pouring that fell in my life in this storm. I have learned how to rebuke the devil - and say "be gone". Our thoughts must be based upon the truth or we will be in big trouble. Our thoughts lead to our emotions, and our emotions lead to our actions. When we are in wilderness (i.e. rejection, loss, despair) it does not take much to send our emotional state of being a full-blown meltdown.

Determine in wilderness seasons, to stand in truth.

 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. - John 17:17

Looking back at my wilderness season, I recognize that so many of my issues cam down to where I allowed my thoughts to dwell. The Enemy desired not only to steal my worship but also kill my joy and destroy my faith. I have found the same to be true for many women I have spoken to in the wilderness.

So what's a girl to do? We must do what Christ modeled for us in the wilderness. Resist Satan and stand firm in the truth of God's Word. Just as it says in James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Submit- Turn to God in prayer and claim this as truth. Resist- Say no to the lies and tell Satan to go back to hell in the name of Jesus.

No lie- Just last night I put this skill into practice. I was driving home when I felt those "poor me" thoughts forming. I listened to a few then realized I didn't nip it in the bud. I began to respond to those lies with God's Word. I spoke scripture out loud. Finally, as I was pulling up to dinner I said " In the name of Jesus go to hell." And guess what? It turns out that Jesus proves one excellent wilderness guide. Though the snake was indeed dead, I opted for something else for dinner.

xoxo - Ashleigh Renee