GASLIGHTING: THE DEVIL IS A LIARHOW TO FIGHT AND OVERCOME THE WAR AGAINST YOUR MIND

June 21, 2024

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10

In this verse, Jesus gives a glaring contrast between the devil’s work to diminish and His plan to bring the kind of life heaven itself enjoys.

 1. THE DEVIL WANTS TO GASLIGHT YOU. What is gaslighting? This term came from a 1938 play, which was made into the film Gas Light. In it, the husband slowly kept turning down the gaslights in the house while telling his wife it was not getting darker to make her think she was going crazy. The psychology of it is if you lie enough to somebody, you can distort their perceptions and make them question their very understanding of a thing. Gaslighting is one of the devil’s skill sets where he works to make us question the reality of what God said. As we begin to recognize when it happens, we will be at an advantage and can resist. 

2. GOD LOVES YOU AND IS NOT WITHHOLDING FROM YOU. In the first gaslighting incident in the Bible, the devil lied to Eve. He questioned God’s Word and suggested that God was withholding from Eve and didn’t really love her. Satan is still vying for the mindset of every man, woman, and child who has embraced Jesus as Lord. He does not want you to know that God loves you as much as He loves Jesus (John 17:23). He does not want you to be activated and deployed with an understanding of who you are in Christ, what you have because of Jesus, and what you can do in Him. 

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 

3. RENEW YOUR MIND. Recently, my wife and I were going through some challenges and were tired, but then she spoke a word of faith that offset the devil’s strategy. She said, “If we stay in faith, we win.” As believers, we have power available to us in the Holy Spirit that is so dynamic and so complete that the devil works overtime to gaslight us. That’s why we go to God’s Word to bring clarity and build our faith. God has empowered us to overcome. As you understand and acknowledge every good thing in you from Jesus and take every thought captive, you are destroying the gaslighting of the devil.

DAILY CONFESSION:
The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus came so that I may have life and have it abundantly. I am a new creature. Salvation has come. I have authority and power in Jesus and the accuser – the devil – has been thrown down. I acknowledge every good thing that is in me in Christ Jesus, and I destroy every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. (John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Revelation 12:10; Philemon 1:6 NKJV; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

If you stay in faith, you win! 
Pastor Jeff Perry

gas·light·ing, noun
Gaslighting is an insidious form of manipulation and psychological control. Victims of gaslighting are deliberately and systematically fed false information that leads them to question what they know to be true, often about themselves. They may end up doubting their memory, their perception, and even their sanity. Over time, a gaslighter’s manipulations can grow more complex and potent, making it increasingly difficult for the victim to see the truth.

^{Copyright © 2024 St. Louis Family Church, All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Gaslighting, N. Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers LLC, 2024, LLC, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/gaslighting}