How could this be? you may wonder. Isn’t anyone who prays and studies the Bible like you claim you do too mature to be hit by such attacks? I respond, Only in their press releases, and mine haven’t been written yet.

Suffice it to say, rounds one and two hit me back to back, within seconds of one another. I was minding my own business, actually thinking about how good it was to walk in victory, when the first round hit. No biggie, I thought; what I just heard from those people wasn’t directed toward me. Then close on its heels, round two hit. Nope; I’m just imagining this, I said to myself.

And then round three hit hard and fast. Evidence! All my suspicions are undoubtedly dead-on! And that old knot in my stomach which had become a mere memory returned to my gut with a vengeance. Along with it came the old shame and fear of man.

Unfortunately, the bad news is this: you will be the target of evil surmisings—and all their hitchhikers—for the rest of your life on this planet until you finally get to fly home to the Lord.

The good news is this: you do not have to accept those thoughts or their tagalongs.

But, you ask, what about all that evidence you picked up by the Holy Spirit? Did I say it was by the Holy Spirit that I picked it up? To tell the truth, I don’t have a clue if what I sensed was accurate or not. And most of the time, neither will you in similar circumstances.

But don’t you need to protect yourself against the lies and disdain that might be rocketing your way? This is always the concern with evil surmisings, and the answer is…not necessarily. You see, suspicions are, even for the most spiritual man alive, still that—suspicions. They have no substance as far as you know. And along with the evil surmisings, launched by the prince of hell, are the whispered promptings of his “unholy spirit”: follow through, investigate, talk up your side of the deal just in case “those people” are seeking your ruin!

Do we not have a Helper, the Holy Spirit? (See John 14:16.) Has He not been summoned, called to our side, especially called to our aid, as One who pleads our cause before a judge? Is He not a Pleader, a Counsel for our defense, our Legal Assistant, and our Advocate? (See http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G3875&t=KJV )

If I was wrong about “those people” and the motives of their hearts, would I not be guilty of judging them before the throne of God if I took to my own defense? And would I not demonstrate before the One with whom I have to do that I did not trust Him to fight my battles, if indeed a battle actually was in operation?

If I was correct in my suspicions, and I was the object of the disdain of others, even then—why should I fear? The Lord has fought similar battles for me while I remained silent; He is faithful to do it again (see Exodus 14:14).

The Lord provides for you a secret place where you can stay safe from the strife of tongues and the snares of the trapper. He surrounds you with favor as with a shield, and even if your enemy does seek to pit unsuspecting people against you, God can cause all things to turn around for your good if you love Him and are called according to His purposes (see Psalm 31:20, Psalm 91:3, Psalm 5:12, and Romans 8:28). You definitely have an unfair advantage, evil surmisings or not.

As for me, I choose to obey God, throw off the mantle of shame and fear which the devil seeks to drop upon my shoulders, and rejoice in the Lord.

God has your back. He is your sun and shield and gives you grace and glory (see Psalm 84:11). And evil surmisings—true or false—can’t stand long before you when you refuse to play along.

May God defend you and keep you forever from the strife of tongues and from falling for evil surmisings!

Dorothy

Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright. Psalm 20:6-8, KJV

Evil surmisings come in an assortment of shapes, sizes, and colors, with one custom-made for you. These thoughts can be subtle—he’s so boring; he can’t possibly be used of God or blatant—I know she’s jealous of me; she’s operating in a controlling ‘Jezebel spirit’. The types and textures of evil surmisings are indeed without number.

How do you distinguish between an evil suspicion and the leading of the Holy Spirit? It’s usually not clear-cut at the outset, so from the get-go, the method of attack you need to take, of course, is to first of all, pray. Lift up the individual or group to the Lord; you even have permission to complain to Him if you must, but He will, nonetheless, expect you to come to the point where you will believe the best of them and let your faith work through love (see 1 Corinthians 13:5-6 and Galatians 5:6).

God is good and quite practical. He isn’t pleased when you are hurt; however, neither will He coddle you or entitle you to cling to your resentment. If you do feel entitled to your bitterness or hatred toward someone—an individual or an entire group—God’s not in that. You will find yourself stuck in one place without growth or further grace when you cling to the title deed of your resentment. Is that really what you want for your life?

What if the suspicion is actually the prompting of the Holy Spirit, warning you to avoid a certain business, fellowship, relationship, or endeavor? Whether the thought arises from the Lord or not, first of all, pray. The Spirit of God knows how to make clear to you the way in which you should go, and at times He will steer you away from people or places in order to protect you or to aid your growth in grace. When you recognize His leading and obey it, much hinges on what you do next. Will you continue in life, thankful for His direction, and refuse to entertain suspicions about the detour He prompted? Or will you use His kind re-routing as an occasion to badmouth and spread suspicions about a fellow believer or church?

Again, even if God reveals something to you as you follow Him, does that mean He wants it blabbed all over town or posted on Facebook? Does that mean you’ve become some sort of spiritual swami, given access to the secret intentions of others? Are you so impressed with your hearing from God that you think you are some kind of spiritual prodigy? As ugly as it sounds, these are some of the snares any one of us can stumble into after hearing from God. You must be alert, both coming and going.

God’s plan is to lead you and me throughout our lives. This is His idea of the normal Christian life. His will for you is to be shrewd in discernment so you can avoid pitfalls, distractions, and deception. But His will is also for you to be harmless as a dove and to walk in a high level of forgiveness, love, and respect for others (see Matthew 10:16).

You can live this way by refusing to yield to the lure of evil surmisings. Pray, forgive, and follow God. It’s your mind, and you have the right to take control of the mental strategies the devil has designed against you to pull you off course. Martin Luther said it something like this, “You cannot control the birds flying over your head, but you can stop them from building a nest in your hair.”

The degree to which you resist evil surmisings and choose rather to pray, forgive, and obey the Lord will also be the degree to which you will grow in accuracy and the clean discernment of God.

“…pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:4b-5, KJV

Praise God for the defeat of evil surmisings!

Dorothy

Because of this, the Psalmist prayed, “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3).

Sometimes doctrinal differences become the topic of conversation between you and another believer. This doesn’t have to spin out of control into strife. We all have  differences with one another–sometimes on points of doctrine. The apostles held rational discussions concerning  serious deviations in doctrine that were being preached when the Church was in her infancy (see Acts 15). By tackling these issues head-on, they were able to be proactive, and they brought clarity to the confusion hitting the early Church.

However, discussion and debate without principled desire for truth and the genuine good of the other person will quickly deteriorate into selfish maneuvering to be right. The Apostle Paul showed great disdain for such wrangling about words. In 1 Timothy 6:3-6, he described the individual who flat-out refused to hear sound doctrine. “He is conceited and understands nothing, but has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words.” Envy, strife, abusive language, and evil suspicions permeate this kind of undisciplined, self-promoting wrestling match (see 1 Timothy 6:4).

But unfortunately, that’s not the only time envy, strife, abusive language, and evil suspicions crop up in the Church. When you think someone is wrong about anything, big or small, take it to the Lord in prayer and guard against suspicious thoughts gaining control of your mind, heart, or behavior.

Evil suspicions are also called evil surmisings in the KJV. When you surmise, you infer something without having sufficient evidence to support your suspicion. You come up with a conclusion based on unfounded feelings.

When you develop a “me against you” or an “us against them” mentality, there’s a very good chance you’re entertaining evil surmisings.

When you think someone doesn’t like you and you “know” what they’re thinking, there’s a good chance you are entertaining evil surmisings.

When you hear yourself saying things like they think they’re too good for me or they always ignore me, you are probably entertaining evil surmisings.

Entire fellowships have been destroyed because of evil surmisings spoken as fact. These juicy tidbits of suspicion have an uncanny way of undermining the lives of good, solid people. God does not take lightly the wreckage of lives devastated by even one whisper of evil surmising.

Stand against anything that would bring dishonor to the name of another believer. Don’t give the devil an opportunity with words of insinuation; refuse to be a party to promoting unsubstantiated evil surmisings, and flee from stripping a fellow believer of his or her dignity before others.

Run from the assumption that you know the thoughts and hearts of those around you. If you recognize you’ve fallen into this snare set for you by the devil, cry out to God for mercy and repent—the quicker the better!

None of us have lived a flawless life, including you. Therefore, instead of evil surmisings, give mercy, freely and from your heart. Make mercy your habit; make it your lifelong passion. You will never regret it.

“For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” James 2:13

“There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Proverbs 12:18