Satan is the enemy of progress. Learning to discern his lies that distract and discourage us will help us to finish strong.
Whether we are experiencing minor daily challenges or life-changing moments, we are all prone to feelings of inadequacy, doubt, and discouragement. However, we can be sure that these feelings don’t come from God. While God wants us to succeed and progress forward, Satan wants us to fail and “be miserable like unto himself” (2 Nephi 2:27). Sister Sheri L. Dew exposes common lies that Satan tells us about ourselves and our purpose in her BYU Women’s Conference speech “This is a Test. It is Only a Test.” Here are three of Satan’s most common lies:
Photo by Caleb Woods
- “You don’t have a purpose.” Satan tries to distract us from why we’re here on earth and wants us to be “involved in anything and everything except what we came for.” If we do become distracted, we can start to believe that we don’t have a purpose. We can combat this lie by being intentional with our time and striving to live with purpose.
- “You aren’t capable.” Satan tells us that our efforts aren’t important and won’t make a difference. In doing so, Satan hopes that we’ll never understand the power within us. Sister Dew quotes Elder Henry D. Moyle, who once said that we often wish for the abilities and characteristics of others when in reality, “Our greatest success comes from being ourselves.”
- “You will miss out by continuing forward.” Satan seeks to discourage us from enduring to the end and from pursuing our short- and long-term goals. He belittles our progress and makes other paths seem more appealing so that we won’t want to take the next step. We can overcome this lie by focusing on why we started and what we’re personally aiming for as we continue to live righteously.
Knowing these tactics of the adversary empowers us to see things as they really are and remain committed to our purpose. Though Satan tries to blur our vision, maintaining focus on Jesus Christ can give us the power to remember “who we are, what we are about, and how vital our contribution is to the Lord’s kingdom.”
Read more about how to combat Satan’s tactics in Sheri L. Dew’s full address “This is a Test. It is Only a Test.”
Source: BYU Women’s Conference
—Myla Parke, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY CHRIS YANG
Read Jeffrey R. Holland’s talk “Be Ye Therefore Perfect—Eventually” to learn about the value of perseverance and progress along the path to our greater goals.
Take a look at Sky Gallagher’s Latter-day Saint Insights article “Come, Follow Me: One Influencer Worth Following” to consider the importance of God’s influence in our lives.
To learn about the power of remembering who we are in times of trouble, read Donald L. Hallstrom’s talk “I Am a Child of God.”