There’s a word I had never heard mentioned until the last couple of years. Just the thought of anyone falling prey to its influence is horrific because of the negative ways it can affect them. The word is gaslighting. It is a form of psychological manipulation that can even involve emotional abuse, where someone causes another individual or group of people to doubt their own senses, memories, perceptions, or sanity. It can also be used as a means of gaining control over someone else.
I found the following
definition that states it plainly: “Gaslighting uses lying as a core component,
but it is not just lying—it is a broader, long-term pattern of psychological
manipulation.”
With this definition in mind,
you can probably think of someone who tries to manipulate and deceive us, steal
our peace, and lead us away from spiritual truth. Scripture describes our adversary as one who
goes about seeking whom he may devour.
You guessed it: the enemy of our souls—Satan.
Scripture warns us in 1 Peter
5:8: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about
like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
Satan is the father of lies
and seeks to deceive those who are trying to live for Christ and walk in the light
of His love. Although gaslighting is a
particular form of manipulation, the enemy’s work of deception reminds us how
important it is to recognize and stand against anything that leads us away from
God’s truth.
It’s important to be grounded
in God’s Word so that we can stand against the enemy’s deception as he tries to
trample truth underfoot. We must hide
His Word in our hearts. It provides us
with a trustworthy standard by which to recognize what is true and what is
false. Scripture provides the light that
exposes the darkness where the horrors of sin dwell.
Psalm 119:105 tells us: “Your
word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
How do we protect ourselves
from deception when someone is deliberately trying to make us doubt what we
know to be true?
The answer begins with having
a trustworthy foundation by which to evaluate what we hear and experience. That foundation is God’s Word, the
Bible. When we allow His truth to take
root in our hearts, we have a firm standard by which to recognize deception and
stand against it. No amount of lying can
change God’s truth, and no deception can make His Word untrue.
The enemy of our souls, who
operates in darkness, may try to take precedence over truth, but Satan is not
greater than the One who conquered sin through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus
Christ, on the cross of Calvary. Jesus
died to free us from the bondage of sin and to give us the hope of eternal
life.
Scripture encourages us in
John 8:32: “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free.”
Written by,
Papa Boyd
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