I heard a lady today tell of an encounter she had with God. From her heart…from the core of her being…she asked God to change the way she thinks. There were lies she believed. She also recognized that the only thing she really wanted was to be at peace with God.

It may be hard to admit…even to ourselves in secret…that we all believe lies. We all have strongholds in our minds based on an idea similar to this one…that one plus one equals three. Brick by brick over years of time fortresses are built…their roots run deep…they are armed…they are defended. If one were to trace the construction of a stronghold like this to the foundation…to that very first brick that was laid…there they would find the inscription: One plus one equals three.

I get to talk to people who believe that one plus one equals three. Over the course of time I have said to some that one plus one equals something else…not three. Someone once told me that they wished one plus one equaled something other than three because then their life would be so much simpler. “But alas…one plus one equals three is who I am.” But it is not who they are is it? It’s only what they think…and what they think isn’t true.

I stand at the door of someone else’s castle and whisper through the keyhole “One plus one does not equal three.” If anyone hears me, they may look around themselves in the vastness of their castle and dismiss my claim. “How can one lone voice from outside of my walls discount what is so clearly apparent to me….one plus one equals three.”

There once was a young man who left his father’s house with his inheritance…before his father had died. The young man believed that one plus one equals three…and he lived well…for a time. There came a time that life became difficult for the young man and he retreated into the dungeon of his castle and he found that first old brick…that first brick with the inscription “One plus one equals three.” The story goes that he “came to himself.” What is it that turns the light on? Who is it that flips the switch? It isn’t me. The young man read the inscription on the first brick and saw the lie. One plus one does not equal three. He said to himself, “I want to go home.”

I hope you find this. Loving you is not difficult. You always please me. I always accept you. I don’t believe that one plus one equals three. Seek peace…not from your stronghold…but from your knees…if there is going to be peace then someone must surrender. Dare to consider that one plus one does not equal three.