A space for truth

LIES SPEAK LOUDER THAN THE TRUTH

This week we look at clearing out the lies so that we have SPACE for the truth

Its funny the things we will say to ourselves that we would never say to another human  being.

We adopted Lily 7 years ago when she was 10 out of a special needs orphanage in China, the following story is just one out of many in her journey to healing. She has encouraged me to share with you, in the hopes that it will help even one other person stop believing the negative words our enemy speaks into our hearts.

 this past year Lily  began hiding again…..in her room or on her phone, She is an introvert so this is her go to defense mechanism. She also started not making eye contact, answering all open-ended questions with “I don’t know”,  getting very defensive when corrected gently and acting unkind to everyone in our family.  We have been here before, many times.  after a lot of prayer, I began to have a “discussion”with her about this behavior and more importantly, what was going on in her heart that was UNDER the behavior.   For over two hours I tried to  get  her to talk to me, she would not. So I asked her if she could  just tell me what she was thinking, I promised that she would not get in trouble, I just needed to understand what was going on so I could help her….silence… no matter how hard I pushed she would not go there.

so I pulled the mom card, I took her phone until she at least would write down what she was thinking. NOT because I am the meanest mom in the entire world but because I KNOW that The best weapon against the lies we tell ourselves is….

truth

I left the room, giving her space to write down what she was thinking right then,

here is a sample of what she wrote that day…

 

“I’m ugly, I’m stupid, I will never be able to take care of myself, I must have a horrible personality because no one likes me, i’m unwanted, i’m worthless, there is nothing good about me”

are you cringing? yeah, me too. But be honest, how many times have you told yourself similar things? Whom of us has not berated ourselves for days, weeks, or even years for the same mistake or shortcoming?

 what we did next changed everything….

we wrote TRUTH over those  horrible LIES

I spoke TRUTH over her

I’m ugly was covered with….. I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE

Im stupid……I HAVE LEARNED A NEW LANGUAGE AND GONE THROUGH 10 GRADES OF SCHOOL IN 7 YEARS.

I will never be able to take care of myself….I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH

I am unwanted….I WAS BOUGHT WITH A PRICE

I am worthless……JESUS GAVE HIS ALL FOR ME

(What we wrote was a little different from what we said)

What I have found is that lies gain strength the longer they go unspoken, our enemy is the prince of lies, and he does his best work in the darkness.

My prayer for you this week is that you will have the courage to confront the lies , Expose them

so that JESUS can replace the lies with

HIS TRUTH.

HE longs to have total access to your heart, ALL  the broken pieces, because only then can HE do what HE does best,

put them back together again.

Be honest with HIM my friend, tell HIM everything, trust HIM with ALL your broken before you try to change your behavior, because, as we have already learned,

DETERMINING TO CHANGE OUR BEHAVIOR WITHOUT FIRST CHANGING OUR HEART ALWAYS SETS US UP FOR FAILURE.

Please, I am begging you, stop listening to the litany of lies that run through your head every day! stop the tape of destruction and replace it with a new soundtrack. one that was written by the one who CREATED YOU rather than the one who is seeking to destroy you.

HE IS MADLY IN LOVE WITH YOU MY FRIEND, HE DIED SO THAT YOU WOULD BELIEVE THAT.

 

Lets start with Zeph. 3:17

The Lord your God is with you, (you are NEVER alone)

    the Mighty Warrior who saves. (HE is your  champion and is ready to go for battle for your heart.)

He will take great delight in you; (HE is not mad at you, HE is delighted with you!)

    in his love he will no longer rebuke you, (HIS death took away your shame, HE is not your accuser)

    but will rejoice over you with singing. (Can you hear HIM singing over you? listen for HIS loving voice telling you how much joy you bring HIM)”

read it,  believe it, memorize it, repeat it

your homework this week

I know you saw this coming

is to write down all the things you tell yourself when no one is listening…….everything that comes to mind, the good that bad and the ugly.  Then go for a treasure hunt to find out what GOD has to say about what you have been saying to yourself, where HIS word does not match your thoughts…….take a bright red marker and write over the top

HIS TRUTH

if you do not hate me yet I will see you next week 😉

I am writing this blog to  people who have a personal relationship with Jesus. If you are not sure you understand what that means I invite you to watch this video series by Andy Stanley. He says things so much better than I ever could.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK6Ohz5DH0o