“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:6)

First, we have no indication of how much time elapsed from when they were placed in the garden and instructed not to eat from the one tree, and when the snake made his move. Could have been days, could have been years, but my guess is that Eve had seen that tree more than a few times before satan came to her. But now, it looked different to her. Now it looked like something she should have. Suddenly, that tree was worth the risk of disobedience. And all the enemy had to do was make her doubt God.

• Did God really say?
• But that’s not really true. You won’t really die.
• He knows that if you do this, you’ll be like Him. That’s why He told you not to do it.

The scriptures give us a front-row seat in that garden to witness the very moment Eve fell for the lie: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good…” When what had once been wrong suddenly looked different to her, the trap was sprung. We have to say no when we hear the lie. We can’t wait until we see something in a different light, because there’s a good chance it will be too late by then. Our ‘no’ must come the moment we are tempted to doubt God.

• BEFORE food looks like comfort;
• BEFORE alcohol looks like a painkiller;
• BEFORE sex looks like the love we crave;
• BEFORE money looks like the answer to all our problems;
• BEFORE submission looks weak;
• BEFORE people look like saviors;
• BEFORE the scriptures look optional.

Before any of that, the enemy will come to us with a lie, and we’ll have the same choice Adam and Eve had. Believe God and obey – or not. But we cannot be long in the choosing, or that lie will start to look like truth.

Pondering lies will never serve us, it will only serve the liar.

My questions today: What are the lies I’ve believed, and how have they affected my life? What I am currently hearing that might be a lie, and how am I responding?