Do you ever talk to yourself? If so, don’t worry! It’s totally normal. In fact, a recent poll found that 97% of people admitted to self-talk. We talk to ourselves to debate a decision, to think through ideas, to give ourselves a pep talk. Some people actually engage in self-talk to create a “presence” around them—something that makes them feel like they aren’t alone. But...what if we’re not alone? What if there is a “presence” around us, but not one that we created? You see, sometimes the voice that we hear isn’t “self”, but something more sinister. Scripture tells us that our Enemy is the Father of Lies—and he is not an idle opponent. He is an active force, feeding us falsehood after falsehood to disrupt God’s work in our lives. But we’re not helpless in our discussion with the Devil. We can answer every lie that the Enemy throws our way with timeless truth from God. We can combat the fear, shame, and hopelessness at every turn. And we can make sure that the Devil never gets the last word.

Let’s not sugarcoat it—life is hard. Health issues, relationship struggles, work problems. All of these situations pop up time and time again. And every time they do, the Devil whispers in our ear, “The amount of problems you have is linked to the amount of love God has for you.” Our Enemy wants us to believe God hates us, God is mad at us, God wants nothing to do with us. But the actual truth? Nothing could be further from the truth. God loves you!