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God desires to show us his truth, but we will fail to see it until we first let go of the lies we hold onto. Our ears will fail us as well, until we surrender our pride and enter into a posture of humility to hear what is contrary to our present understanding.

This applies to Christian and non-Christian alike. And the more prideful we are in our stance, the further we will be from seeing and hearing what God is trying to reveal. As the writer of Proverbs states, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom” (Proverbs 11:2, ESV, 2001, Crossway).

Jesus says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

“The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both” (Proverbs 20:12).

It appears to be part of human nature, or at least the sinful side within us, that causes us to be deceived and imprisoned, rather than be set free through knowledge and truth.

Isaiah prophesies about the condition of the hearts of many of God’s chosen people, and it is a pattern of thinking that is also a sign of these last days, “Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed” (Isaiah 6:9-10).

We may recognize that sin exists, but we fail to recognize how pervasive it is within us and to let it go. Instead we treat sin as a trivial nuisance, rather than as the hostile tool that our enemy is using, to deceive, steal, kill, and destroy.

Much of this happens through our own willful participation with sin and through our pride and arrogance in believing that we could never be deceived ourselves. Falling prey to self-deception sets up our hearts and minds to be hardened and incapable of seeing and hearing the truth staring us squarely in the face. The Apostle Paul warns us ” Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life (Galatians 6:7-8).

God has provided the Holy Spirit to indwell those who follow Jesus Christ, but we will not hear the Spirit’s conviction or his truth as long as our loyalty and focus remain divided. “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).

We must be willing to admit that our flesh is weak, and that our mind, heart and soul are just as susceptible, as Adam and Eve’s were, to being deceived by Satan. Our pride and arrogance are stumbling blocks for the Christian life we claim to live, and they prevent us from having the eyes to see and the ears to hear what God is showing and saying. Without possessing these spiritual senses we are unable to encounter God’s truth or abide in him as we’ve been called.

That is the first step for us to accept and enter into before we can truly come out of the world as scripture instructs.

Then we must wrestle with our earthly identity, citizenship, educational programming, and governmental control to unravel why we believe what we have come to agree with, and to observe the rulers and authorities of this present darkness at work to mislead, deceive, enslave, and control those who fail to let it all go. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

It is imperative that we recognize the trap Satan has set before us, to study the inner workings and the specific details behind its design if we hope to remain free from its harm.

Now the hard part. Are you willing to let go of your earthly identity, your national citizenship, your allegiance and loyalty to the created rather than to the Creator, so that God is able to reveal his truth and expose Satan’s schemes used against his creation since the beginning?

Many will not. They will choose to serve the creature rather than the Creator. The consequence of their pride, arrogance, and idolatry will be to remain unaware of God’s truth through spiritual blindness.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen” (Romans 1:18-25).

Whether you can see it or not, God is revealing truth to those who are willing. But, you must desire his truth more than your own life. You must surrender yourself in the equation, for God to impact you with his knowledge and truth. You cannot serve two masters, with one serving the flesh and the other being the Lord. God is a jealous God, and we are instructed to serve him alone. “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24).

While there is much more to discuss, it will have no value in your spiritual life until you are willing to enter the narrow path set before you.And this cannot happen until your eyes and ears are capable to see and hear. It is not easy–it requires you to let go of everything, so that your focus is totally on your Shepherd. You must leave everything else that is weighing you down and preoccupying your thoughts and desires, so that you are capable to navigate the challenges along the way.

There is freedom from the enslaved life this world has for you if you want it. But, only those who lose their life will find it. We pray that will be you.

In Christ.