When Lies Masquerade as Truth

What we think is true can be just as powerful as what actually is true.

Just ask Hitler.

The First US Army Group played a pivotal role in the D-Day Invasion—and it wasn’t even real.

The Nazis knew the Allied forces would eventually try to step onto the continent, but where? The Allies had their sights on landing at Normandy, but they didn’t want the Germans to know that. So they created a fictitious army group, placed it in a British coastal area far from where the Allies were actually stationed, and gave the impression they were going to invade France at Pas de Calais, a good 200 miles up the coast.

• They created tent cities, fake mess halls, hospitals, and even a sewage treatment facility.
• They filled the area with rubber inflatable tanks and a massive inventory of jeeps and ambulances constructed of wood.
• The British film industry stepped in and made dummy landing craft out of fabric, plywood, old pipe, and bailing wire.
• At night, men would move this equipment around, giving the illusion of activity.
• They transmitted fake reports of camp activity, preparation, and troop movements.

To German radio operators and reconnaissance planes, the enemy was gearing up for invasion at Pas de Calais. As a result, when the allied invasion occurred on June 6, 1944, the Germans military was not as fortified at Normandy as they could’ve been. Their units were spread thin with a large contingency waiting 200 miles north for an invasion that never happened.

Even three days after the invasion, Hitler ordered the units to stay at Calais instead of joining the others in Normandy. This allowed the Allies to gain the ground needed.

A ghost army won a real battle.

Don’t let a ghost army win any battles in your life.

Has anyone ever said one of these to you? Ever said them to yourself?

• You failed—again. You will always be a failure.
• You are inadequate. You’ll never measure up.
• Sure, God loves you, but He can’t use you—not after what you’ve done.
• You are who you are. You will never change.
• You’re hopeless.

Stop listening to these. They are nothing but lies. Jesus Christ changes everything.

• He removes your sin—no matter how bad it is.
• His forgiveness and love sees no failure.
• He comes into your life through His Holy Spirit. God Himself empowers you and overcomes any past or inadequacies.
• He gives you hope and a future.

Lies rule our lives when we believe them. And Satan will bombard us with those lies in hopes that we treat them like the truth. Don’t fall for his lies and tricks. If we see the truth of who Christ is and who we are in Him, those lies are nothing more than a pretend, ghost army. They might look threatening, but they have no real power.

So how can we recognize the lies and stand strong against them? Focus on the truth. Focus on Christ and what He has done for you. The gospel—the salvation that comes through the death and resurrection of Christ—is not simply to secure your future in heaven; it is for now. The good news is that Christ has set you free now. You rest securely in Him.

“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one” (John 10:28-29).

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17).

“But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him” (Col. 1:22).

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13).

Live in the truth of who you are in Christ.

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This post supports the study “The Strength to Stand Against Temptation” in Bible Studies for Life and YOU.

Podcast

Join Lynn Pryor and Chris Johnson as they discuss this topic:

https://ministrysites.s3.amazonaws.com/podcasts/bsfl_adults/BSFL_ADULTS_SPR23_U2S6.mp3