Jack was sitting on my bed with our portable DVD player watching Star Wars III while I was packing for our trip to Birch Bay. I was listening to the words, which I have heard a kazillion times (I am sure I made up that number....but it is a big one!).
I love how God highlights something that He has been trying to get you to sink in to your heartand mind. The Holy Spirit has been impressing upon my heart to examine the lies that I have believed and replace those with truth. As I was listening to the dialogue in Star Wars, Obi Wan and Yoda were talking to Anakin at different times and they both told him he was being deceived by a lie. Obi Wan told Anakin that the dark side will twist his mind.
Oh how the enemy deceives us and he does it by telling us lies. I have a pile of lies that I was told. And the scary part is, the lies begin to look like the truth because the "dark side" twists our mind.
In John 8:44-45 Jesus is talking to a group of people and said "...because there is not truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell you the truth, you just naturally don't believe me."
Anakin was listening to numerous wise people telling him the truth....but one person was telling him lies. One person told him he couldn't trust the others and they were not out for his best interest. The lies took root and from that grew anger, resentment, and fear and the darkness grew heavier than the light.
Some of the lies I have believed are: I am stupid. I can't make decisions. I am fat. I am a terrible mother. I don't know why God created me. I have done nothing with my life. I don't fit it. I will never learn. I can't be forgiven. I have ruined my life and the life of my kids. People will only accept me if I am perfect. And the list goes on. Have you ever said any of those to yourself?
Our enemy's goal is to "steal and kill and destroy". He can take one moment, one comment, one resentment, one fear, one mistake....and turn it into a root which grows into a vine of lies. The lies twist our thinking. Anakin was suppose to bring balance to the Jedi force...but the deceiver twisted things so much that Anakin's purpose was stolen and in the end destroyed.
Obi Wan tells Anakin, "you are going down a path that I can not follow...come back". But Anakin refuses to let the truth sink in. He wouldn't. He refused. Obi Wan had purposed to stand by his convictions of the truth. He would not allow the lies to become part of who he was. But Anakin had a veil of lies in front of him and was not willing to lift it off.
Don't allow the lies to twist your view of God or of who God created you to be. I allowed the lies to become my truth and they almost killed me. We have to pull the root all the way out and replace it with the Sword of the Spirit...the Word of God...the truth. Jesus is the "way and the truth and the life". Satan is the "father of lies".
Here is a practical exercise that you can do. Make two columns on a piece of paper. On one column label the top "lies" and the other "truth". Pick one or two lies that you tell your self or someone else has told you. Then find a scripture in your bible that tells you the opposite of that...which will be the truth. Don't start out with every lie you have ever believed. That would be way too overwhelming. Pray and ask our loving God to reveal to you what He would like you to write down...what He desires for you to change in your thoughts. After you have done that, take an index card and write the scripture on it. Every time you think that lie or even say it aloud, run as fast as you can to get that index card and read the truth instead. Also read it every morning, hang it on your bathroom mirror, or wherever you will see it throughout the day. But don't let it become a redundant thing you just read....really let it sink in and understand that God didn't just say that to take up space on a page, but for us to live it out. When you are ready, move on to another.
Here is an example of something I wrote at one time:
Lie: I can never be forgiven for the things I have done.
Truth: Psalm 103:3 "He forgives all my sins." Isaiah 38:17 "...for you have rescued me from death and forgiven all my sins."
I pray that you will see how lies can twist our thinking in to such darkness that we start to live out the lies as if they were truth. Who do we want to live for...the father of lies or the way and the truth and the life?
I say...the truth which is life.
Satan thinks he is so smart and cunning...but he isn't. He has so many limitations...and God has none. We have the Holy Spirit living in us. Let's tap in to His strength and stand firm in our faith. We will not listen to the darkness! Satan has stolen way too much...and God is ready to give it back...take it! It's the truth.
In so much love....Teresa
Such honesty in this post. I will take a lie that I still sometimes hear and find scripture that says the opposite. Thanks for reminding me, to not let Satan have even the tiniest of root in my mind.
ReplyDeleteLove you.