Has anyone whispered lies in your ear day after day, so much so that you eventually start to believe them?
What about lying to yourself? Do you ever do that?
I think, as a woman, I have to answer yes to all three questions. How unfortunate.
We have enough to deal with -- cooking, cleaning, laundry, dirty diapers, snotty noses, helping with homework, driving kids to and from sports practice and music lessons, paying bills, buy groceries, and making sure everyone else is taken care of 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. We don't really need to add anything else to our already full plates, especially not the stress of being lied to.
And yet, we are bombarded with lies every day. From the moment we get up, we are lied to.
"You're fat."
"You're ugly."
"You're lazy. You should have gotten up early to go to the gym."
"You're not good enough."
"You don't have time for that."
"You're too busy."
"You don't deserve that."
"If _________ can do it, you should be able to do it too."
"You're not as pretty as ____________."
"___________ is a better __________ (fill in the blank with whatever may come to mind) than you."
The worst part is that we hear these lies so often from so many different sources -- magazines, TV, friends, family, enemies, strangers, ourselves -- that we have come to believe them.
We don't even recognize these awful, horrible lies as just that -- lies. Instead, we sadly accept them as truth.
We must stop.
But how?
How do we go about seeing these lies for what they are and start teaching ourselves to listen to THE truth instead? How do we train ourselves to shut out the lies and only let the truth in to our hearts and minds?
First, let's take a look at 5 common lies we hear and believe. I personally struggle with dreaming. I'm great at setting goals for myself -- work out, eat right, read books, write notes to my friends, etc. But when it comes to dreaming and doing something for myself, I freeze. I tell myself that I'm being selfish, that I don't deserve such things, that I need to be content with what I have and where I am at in life. I was beginning to feel my heart shrinking as I let these lies suck the sense of adventure from my spirit. I was watching the awe and wonder and hope slowly disappear from sight. And so, when I saw that Money-Saving-Mom Crystal Paine had posted You're Made for a God-Sized Dream by Holley Gerth on her reading list, I thought it looked like a book I should read myself.
The first chapter in the book caught my attention as I felt like God was taking me by the shoulders, cupping my face, and shouting at me through Holley's words. She began by addressing lies that keep us from dreaming.
1. Dreaming is selfish
2. I don't have what it takes
3. It's too late
4. I don't deserve to dream
5. I don't have time
What about you? Which of those lies have you believed? For me, #1 and #4 struck the nail on the head.
Now that we know what the lies are, we can combat them with TRUTH.
I love what Holley Gerth has to say about dreaming and how it impacts our relationship with God Himself. She writes:
Dreaming is a core part of who we are. True, not all of our dreams come from God and not all of them are His will for our lives, but the capacity to use our imaginations, to have visions, to nurture desires is inherent in who He has created us to be.
Dreams and desires propel us forward. In many ways, they keep us moving toward heaven -- they don't allow us to get too comfortable here, to settle in ways and places God never intended. As long as you are alive, God wants you to go further, dig deeper, and draw closer to Him. And I believe dreams are one of the primary ways God makes that happen. Every dream or desire you have that comes from God is an invitation for more intimacy with Him.
Did you catch that?
You can stop feeling guilty about dreaming and hoping.
And if life has diminished your capacity to dream, here's your permission to start again.
Really.
Unfortunately, just reading this marvelous truth once won't free us from the bondage of the lies we have believed over and over and over again. Oh no, we must wake up each morning and repeat this truth to ourselves When we look in the mirror and hear the lie, we have to shut it up. When we're in a group of women and start comparing ourselves to those around us and those lies start to creep in, we have to shoo them away, FAST. When we're alone and the lies begin to surround us, we have to tell them to go away. Whenever, wherever, and however the lies come back -- because they will, time and time and time again -- we have to immediately address them and remind them that they no longer have a place in our lives.
But the only way we can win this battle against our enemy. who just so happens to be a master of deceit, is to become masters of the truth. Ephesians 6: 10-18 shows us exactly how we can defeat the Father of Lies.
A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
Did you notice that the very first piece of armor is the belt of TRUTH? Everything else hangs on the belt, and thus everything depends on the foundation of truth.
When we hear the lie that we're fat or ugly or not pretty enough or anything along those lines, we need to look Satan square in the eye and let him know, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am God's masterpiece. God took His time to create me this way and I am absolutely beautiful in His eyes." (Psalm 139:13-16)
When Satan whispers that we're not good enough or that we don't deserve good things, we have to shout back at him, "God delights in me and enjoys blessing me with His limitless heavenly riches. Every good and perfect gift is from Him and meant to bring glory to His name." (Zephaniah 3:17; 2 Peter 1:3-4; James 1:17)
When hard times come and we face struggles and don't know how we will ever overcome the obstacles in our way to reaching our dreams, we can't let Satan convince us that we should stop dreaming, that we need to give up, that we should just throw in the towel, that we were wrong to think we could achieve something so big and wonderful. We need to remind ourselves that we serve a limitless God and that our dreams aren't about us in the first place - they're about HIM! And so we look Satan square in the eye and give it to him like it is, "You seem to have forgotten that I serve the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, and if He is for me, no one can stand against me. You seem to have forgotten that nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate me from His love and that He always works EVERYTHING out for His good and perfect purposes. His plans never fail, and He can do infinitely more than I have ever even dreamed or dared to hope or imagine. So, I'm pretty sure He has this taken care of. This hasn't surprised Him. He's in control; not you. Just go away and don't come back. I'm resisting you and you need to flee, right now because God is drawing near, and there's just not room for you in my life right now." (Romans 8; Ephesians 3:20; Jeremiah 32:17; James 4:7-8)
Satan doesn't give up easily. And he will attack you with his lies day after day after day. He will twist and turn the truth, trying to deceive you and get you to believe him. He will try to wear you down and give in to him. Don't let him!!! Remember, the God of heaven's armies is on your side, fighting for you.
He will never leave you or forsake you.
He created you.
He loves you.
He wants only the best for you.
So, go and run to Him.
Hide in the secret of His presence.
Shut Satan out and just sit in the shadow of God's wings.
Let Him wrap His strong, loving arms around you.
Look into His face and listen to His voice.
You are made for more.
Now is your time.
Let's do this together.
As you get up, God holding your hand in His, turn and look at Satan. Give him a nice, smug look and whisper, "Liar, liar, pants on fire..."
Then, never glance back. Keep on going forward, for that is where God is leading you.
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