Has the enemy been working overtime on you with discouragement? Do you feel like nothing is working, and nothing will ever work? Did you wake up this morning feeling a little more hopeless than you did yesterday because there are absolutely no signs of change, no signs of improvement, and no proof of God’s power at work here?

Satan cannot diminish God’s power. He can’t block it in any way in your life. However, he can create chaos to distract you. He can bring darkness to discourage you. And he can play in your emotions, picking at old wounds and scabs, to make you feel there’s just no hope in this. Is that what’s been happening to you? Has the enemy been poking? Has he been distracting? Has he been successful in his sleezy ways of discouraging you?

He doesn’t want you to see the way God has made for you. He doesn’t want you to tap into the power God has placed within you. He doesn’t want your spirit to be renewed with hope again. Because, honey, if you do, you won’t be stuck here! You won’t be overwhelmed not knowing what to do. You won’t give up so easily. You won’t walk away defeated again by the facade the enemy has orchestrated.

This is just a facade. It looks hopeless, but it’s not. It looks impossible, but Sis, when you bring God with you onto the scene, nothing shall be impossible. It sounds real bad, but it’s a bunch of hype Satan and his demons have been building to make you turn away from what God has for you next. It’s a facade.

This is the exact word God gave me this morning. He’s revealing to his girls what has been holding us back.

A facade is an outward appearance that is maintained to conceal a less creditable reality. It looks a certain way from the front, but it’s hiding a reality that is totally different.

There are things that look so bad and so hopeless on the outside, but behind that front, there’s a way being made. Satan will block you, discourage you, and convince you there’s just no way through, so you give up and walk away. How many times have you walked away thinking it was impossible when it was just a facade to discourage you? How many times have you given up when God had made a way through it, you just weren’t willing to give that effort.

Remember the story of the friends who refused to give up on their buddy who needed healing? Do you remember what they did when they faced a problem that blocked them from getting to Jesus?

Mark 2: 1-5, “A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Y’all, they tore the darn roof off! They were determined to get their friend in front of Jesus. When there wasn’t a way through the door, they tried the window. When there wasn’t a way through the window, they started climbing. And Jesus was impressed by their faith. Faith that didn’t settle for the facade that there was no way. Faith that didn’t grow discouraged over the facade that Jesus was unavailable.

Jesus is available to you! That’s what the devil doesn’t want you to know! He doesn’t want you to know that there is a way for you. He doesn’t want you to know this is possible. He doesn’t want you to know this crowd, this wall, this roof, it’s all just a facade. It looks impossible, but it’s not. It feels overwhelming, but your feelings can’t be trusted here. Start climbing this wall in faith. Start ripping off this roof in faith.

There’s a beautiful woman in Georgia who faithfully listens to this podcast. Her 18 year old son accepted Jesus several months ago, and he has been wanting to be baptized. His church offers baptisms occasionally throughout the year, but require a class first. He wasn’t able to attend the class due to work, so he was left waiting several more months for another opportunity. He didn’t want to wait. He wanted to be baptized.

So, they contacted me and asked if I could baptize him. Then they created a plan to drive through the night and day to get to me all the way in the Florida Keys, meet with me to baptize him in the bay, then drive the rest of the day and the next night to go back home. That’s ridiculous. Who does that? A boy who wants to be baptized and a mama who’s willing to rip the roof off for him! I had the honor of baptizing him on Saturday and I’ve never seen anyone so excited to follow God in this act of obedience.

My sister, I don’t know what’s been in your way, but have you asked Jesus to give you the courage and strength to rip the roof off? Have you asked him to help you overcome your excuses and get out of your own darn way? Ask him now to help you see the facade for what it is … it’s just a fake front hiding something totally different.

A facade can also be a fake front that looks good on the outside, but hides a less pleasant reality.

I was recently tricked by a facade. I found a gorgeous beach house in Hawaii, and I paid $18,000 to book it for a retreat. Shortly after sending my money, something in my spirit just felt off, and I quickly discovered it was a complete scam. This house likely didn’t even exist. Dishonest people had gone to great lengths to create a facade of a beautiful home, but behind the scenes, they were twisting and concocting their story to create a desperate situation where you would settle for their real home which was a far cry from the one advertised. However, when you show up to Hawaii with your suitcase and find the house you’ve booked isn’t real, then you are quick to settle for anything. Thus, how they keep your money and you’re tricked by their facade.

And they almost got me!

I assure you the enemy of your soul is the master of facades. He will paint it up pretty and make you think you just have to drag it home. He will present it just the way you would want it, but the second you walk through that door, everything changes. Did he almost get you?

Has this been a facade? Are you seeing only what you want to see and missing the red flag parade marching up and down these streets? Lord, open our eyes so we’re not fooled. Prompt our spirit so we are wise. Give us the courage to release the shiny thing the enemy has distracted us with.

Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.” It looks harmless, but it’s not. It looks sweet, but it’s vicious. This is a facade. Darkness dresses up in fancy clothes to lure you in, then holds you hostage.

It’s just a drink to help you relax, then it’s the whole bottle, then it’s every day, then it’s an addiction that has you trapped in a life far less than you were created for.

It’s just a pill you’ve been prescribed, so it can’t be bad. But now you need more, so you hide and you sneak, and the dependency on these pills will grow to an all consuming need for more to even function. You will turn into someone you never wanted to be.

It’s just a little guilty pleasure, then the pleasure is gone and you’re stuck in guilt.

It looks so pretty on the outside, but now you realize the enemy has sucked you in with his facade and that vicious wolf is on the attack. Lord, come rescue your girls. Send the good shepherd! You know, Jesus is the good shepherd who comes looking for the one who went astray, right? Matthew 18: 12-13, “If a shepherd has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.” He lovingly looks for the one who got tricked. He relentlessly pursues the one who got stuck. He searches for the one who wandered off, tricked by the facade.

If that’s you, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Let the shepherd find you here and celebrate over rescuing you!

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