Smoke & Mirrors

“…casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].  Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.] After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you [making you what you ought to be].  To Him be dominion (power, authority, sovereignty) forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:7-11 

Smoke and mirrors is a classic technique in magical illusions that makes an entity appear to hover in empty space. It has now become a figure of speech which means the obscuring or embellishing of the truth of a situation with misleading or irrelevant information. Also, if something is described as smoke and mirrors it is intended to make you believe that something is being done or is true, when it is not. In other words, smoke and mirror is all about deception. It’s a tactic that the enemy uses to distract, discourage, and derail the people of God. 

Many times in our lives, God will allow us to go through situations that seem completely impossible to overcome. He’ll allow us to go through seasons of lack and loss, scarcity and shame, despair and disappointment. He’ll take us through the valley of dry bones where it seems there is no life, no fruit, and no manifestation of His promises. Even when we go through these seasons, we must remember that things are not always what they seem. God is with us and God is for us. It doesn’t matter who isn’t for us and what tactics the enemy uses against us. God is our Defender. He’s our Way Maker, our Miracle Worker, our Promise Keeper, and our Light in the darkness. 

God is always there working behind the scenes orchestrating events and situations for our benefit.  So even as we pray, it may seem as if nothing is happening, and God is not listening. But God is working. You must believe that and speak that by faith. He’s allowed me to go through enough circumstances to know that things are not always what they seem. There were times where I would be in such tight and impossible, sometimes scary situations…praying and fasting for months. It seemed like God was not there. Out of nowhere He would move as I continued to believe that He would bring me out and perfect those things that were concerning me. He would show me that He had the situation under His control the entire time. God uses these situations as tools to grow us up in faith, in integrity, and in prayer. You may be in a situation where your back may be against the wall and you don’t know what to do, but God does. He had the solution before you even had the problem. The Word of God declares that He knows the things that we need before we even ask (Matt. 6:8). I’m a witness to that. 

I’m reminded of 2 Kings 6:16-17 where Elisha prayed for his servant’s eyes to be opened in the very impossible situation that he was facing. The Aramean army had come up against the people of God to make war. They seemed to be surrounded - in a tight place - an impossible situation. Elisha answered, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘Lord, please, open his eyes that he may see.’ And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha.” The army of God was with the people of God. We must get to a place of faith to know that no matter what we face, God’s army…His angels, and His Word shall go before us. 

The enemy uses the tactic of smoke and mirrors to throw the people of God off course. He does this so that we begin to doubt God, become discouraged and hopeless, never reaching a place in faith to move to the next level of maturity in God. The Bible says that He takes us from glory to glory and faith to faith (Psalms 84:7 & 2 Corin. 3:18). The enemy would love nothing more than to deceive you, cause you to quit on God, and miss your destiny. But, it’s all smoke and mirrors. 

Push past how you feel and what you see. Walk by faith and not by sight. Trust that God has your situation under control and will not suffer your foot to be moved, He’s faithful.

Be Encouraged.

A.M.💓