This Week's Devo

  Knowing God in a Distorted World

We live in a time when lies don’t always look like lies. They sound reasonable. They come from trusted voices. They’re wrapped in compassion, authority, and popularity. And if we’re honest, that’s what makes them dangerous.

In my work with New Mexico Family Action Movement, I spend a lot of time at the Capitol—listening, engaging, and advocating. From the outside, it might seem like a place where truth and clarity should prevail. But from the inside, I hear something different. I hear deception often wrapped in the language of care and concern. Policies are presented as compassionate. Harmful outcomes are softened with emotional appeals. And if I’m not careful, it would be easy to begin believing the message simply because of how convincingly it’s delivered.

What has become increasingly clear to me is this: the danger isn’t always in what is said—but in what is subtly distorted.

It’s only when I step back and measure those messages against the Word of God that the deception becomes unmistakable. Scripture has a way of cutting through polished language and emotional manipulation, revealing truth for what it really is.

That reality has reminded me of something Scripture has warned us about all along: the greatest threat to God’s people has never been persecution—it’s deception. Persecution clarifies lines. Deception blurs them.

And in a world where those lines are increasingly blurred, knowing about God isn’t enough. We must truly know Him—His character, His truth, His ways—if we are going to recognize distortion, stand firm in conviction, and take faithful action when it matters most.

Truth Will Be Distorted

Scripture never presents deception as a rare possibility—it treats it as a certainty. From beginning to end, God warns His people to stay awake, stay grounded, and stay discerning, because distortion will come.

In the book of Daniel, chapter 11, the prophet is given a detailed vision of a future ruler who would rise to power through manipulation rather than righteousness. Many scholars identify this king as Antiochus Epiphanes—a ruler known not only for his cruelty, but for his calculated deception. He did not initially attack God’s people with force alone. He used flattery. He appealed to their desires. He offered favor, influence, and protection to those willing to compromise.

Daniel 11 tells us that this king specifically targeted the Jews who had abandoned the covenant. These were not outsiders unfamiliar with God’s ways—they were people who once belonged to Him, but had grown careless in their obedience. Scripture says they were seduced by smooth words and false promises, slowly drawn away from faithfulness because the cost of compromise seemed small at first.

Truth wasn’t rejected outright—it was reframed. God’s commands were treated as outdated. Covenant faithfulness was portrayed as unnecessary or extreme. And many were deceived, not because they hated God, but because they had stopped walking closely with Him.

This pattern matters. Deception in Daniel 11 did not come from an obvious enemy waving a banner of opposition to God. It came from a powerful authority figure who positioned himself as enlightened, persuasive, and beneficial—especially to those already drifting from covenant commitment.

Jesus warned His disciples that this kind of deception would not be isolated to one moment in history:

“See that no one leads you astray.” (Matthew 24:4)

Isaiah echoed the same concern when he warned of a world that would blur moral clarity—calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). And Paul cautioned believers not to be carried away by empty words that sound convincing but lack truth (Ephesians 5:6).

God never calls His people to blind obedience—to culture, authority, or influence. Awareness is not suspicion; it is stewardship. Scripture makes it clear: deception gains traction where covenant faithfulness weakens. When God’s people neglect His Word, flattery becomes effective.

Which brings us to an essential question—one Daniel 11 quietly forces us to confront:

How can we recognize distortion if we don’t know the truth well enough to measure it?

Daniel 11 reminds us that deception doesn’t begin with persecution—it begins with neglect. And only those who truly know their God will be able to discern the difference.

Know Your God—Discernment is Rooted in Relationship

This passage of scripture draws a sharp contrast between two groups of people. On one side are those who were deceived by flattery—individuals who had grown careless with the covenant and were easily swayed. On the other are those described with a single defining phrase: “the people who know their God.” These were the ones who stood firm when deception spread. And Scripture is clear—they were not protected by position, influence, or circumstance. They were anchored by relationship.

Knowing God is more than having information about Him. It is not familiarity with religious language or cultural Christianity. Discernment does not grow from awareness alone—it flows from intimacy. Those who recognized distortion in Daniel 11 did so because they had a lived, practiced knowledge of who God is and what He requires.

Daniel and his friends are living proof of this reality. Their faithfulness did not suddenly appear when pressure arrived—it was already established long before Babylon tested them. In Daniel 1, we’re told that “Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself” (Daniel 1:8). That resolve didn’t come from fear—it came from conviction shaped by relationship. By the time the world demanded compromise, Daniel already knew who he belonged to.

Years later, when prayer became illegal, Daniel didn’t scramble to decide what faithfulness required. Daniel 6 tells us that he went to pray “as was his custom.” Obedience was not reactive—it was habitual. Faithfulness preceded pressure.

This is what it means to know God. It means His ways are so deeply woven into our lives that obedience becomes instinctive rather than negotiable. Relationship produces conviction, not convenience.

Scripture helps us understand why this matters by revealing God’s character. When God described Himself to Moses, He emphasized His mercy, faithfulness, and justice (Exodus 34:6–7). His character is consistent, trustworthy, and true. Psalm 119 reminds us that the sum of God’s Word is truth—not partially true, not situationally true, but fully and eternally true. And Jesus Himself prayed that His followers would be sanctified—not by feelings or opinions—but by truth (John 17:17).

When we know God’s character, we are able to discern when something sounds compassionate but contradicts truth. When we know His Word, we recognize when ideas are presented as progress but lead us away from holiness.

This is why the people who stood firm in Daniel 11 were not the most powerful, popular, or persuasive.

 They were the ones who knew their God.

If we don’t know God’s character, we will inevitably mistake compromise for compassion.

And in a distorted world, that confusion is not just dangerous—it’s devastating.

Stand Firm & Take Action—Faithful Obedience in a Distorted World

Daniel 11:32 does not separate standing firm from taking action—it links them. Those who know their God do both. Standing firm is not passive resistance or quiet agreement. It is inward resolve expressed through outward obedience, even when that obedience carries a cost.

Standing firm begins long before pressure arrives. Daniel and his friends did not decide to be faithful when the furnace was heated or when the decree was signed. Their obedience was already established. Conviction had been formed in private long before it was tested in public. That’s why standing firm does not require being loud—it requires being faithful.

Scripture reminds us that standing firm often costs something. It may cost comfort, influence, relationships, or approval. But God has never measured faithfulness by ease. He measures it by obedience. “Having done all, to stand firm,” Paul writes—not retreating when obedience becomes inconvenient (Ephesians 6:13). Joshua framed it plainly: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Standing firm begins with settled decisions, not situational reactions.

But Daniel 11:32 doesn’t stop at resolve. It says those who know their God take action.

We see this clearly in Scripture. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow when everyone else complied. Daniel continued to pray when it became illegal. Daniel spoke truth to power even when the message placed his life at risk. None of these actions were reckless. They were faithful responses rooted in relationship with God.

That same call applies today.

For the people who know their God, standing firm and taking action may look like refusing to compromise biblical truth when culture demands affirmation. It may mean guarding what we consume—recognizing that not every narrative labeled “good” aligns with God’s Word. It may mean measuring policies, movements, and messages against Scripture instead of emotion or pressure.

Relationally, it looks like speaking truth in love—even when it risks misunderstanding. It looks like discipling our children intentionally, teaching them God’s Word so they are not easily swayed by a distorted culture. Silence in these moments is not neutral—it quietly teaches compromise.

Publicly, standing firm and taking action may look like praying openly and consistently, engaging in civic responsibility, voting with conviction, and refusing to stay quiet when truth is twisted. It means remembering that obedience to God does not end at the church door. As the apostles declared, “We must obey God rather than men.” And Micah reminds us that faithful action is not loud posturing, but lives marked by justice, mercy, and humility.

Knowing truth always demands response. James tells us that hearing without doing is self-deception. Faith that never moves becomes fragile—and eventually fades.

So here is the challenge of Daniel 11:32 for us today:

Do not simply recognize distortion.

Do not quietly lament culture.

Know your God.

Stand firm.

And take action.

Because knowing God fuels courage. Courage produces obedience. And obedience—lived faithfully and consistently—becomes the kind of action God uses to shift hearts, homes, and cultures.