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Exchanging Lies for Truths

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What lies do you hear in your head?  I’m not talking about schizophrenia—although this may apply in that situation, too.  I’m talking about the tape that plays in your head of various, hurtful things people have said or implied to you over your years, especially when growing up.  Amazing how one statement from someone can stay with you for a lifetime, isn’t it?  And how awful that the tape can even start playing in your own voice!

Do any of these sound familiar? :

I’m ugly.

I’m not important.

My future is bleak; I have nothing to look forward to.

I’ll never be enough.

People don’t care about me.

I don’t belong.

I’m alone.

When we start to think about what we’re thinking, we might be appalled by the thoughts that roll around in our heads unawares, wreaking havoc in our self-perceptions and our views of others, hindering us from becoming our best selves, and influencing our relationships.

But there must be something we can do to fight these unbidden, destructive thoughts!

As a speech therapist, I used to coach parents of young children.  Even though support with communication was my primary purpose—with the population being children from birth to 3 years old—every family brought up tantrums at some point in our therapy visits.  When discussing how to change undesired behaviors, I brought up smoking. 

It’s easier to kick a habit when there’s something to replace it.  For example, smokers often find it easier to replace their cigarettes with gum rather than quitting cold turkey.  Quite literally, this fills the void (the mouths) left by the absence of cigarettes.  A replacement makes the change a little easier, more permanent, and more palatable (haha pun intended!).

It’s the same with kids.  When you tell them to stop reaching out and touching things at the store while they’re riding in the shopping cart, it’s very challenging because they want to be active.  They’re confined, and they need to do something with their hands.  When you leave their little hands empty, they will  find something to grab.  However, if you give them something appropriate to play with while they’re stuck in the cart, they might be able to resist the other tempting things more easily.  Replacing the object that the child cannot play with with something that they can safely play with keeps them from trying to grab other things.

It’s also the same with our thoughts.  When we try to eradicate a negative statement that we’ve been hearing for years, it might be quite challenging to just try and cast the thought out of your mind every time it comes up, but if you regularly replace it with another thought each time, then you will find more progress. 

Just like quitting other things, having something to fill the void left by the removed lie is the key to renewing your mind, to successfully getting rid of the lies that infiltrate your subconscious.

Capture the negative statement as it flashes through your mind and refute it; replace it with the truth!  You don’t want to leave an empty space in your mind to be filled by whatever comes along.  Be intentional in filling it with what’s good, God’s truth. 

The devil is a liar.  He specializes in telling us these lies over and over—through others or even ourselves!—until we believe the lies, and they become automatic thoughts in our heads, leading to harmful patterns of behavior.

As much as the devil is the father of lies, God is the father of truth.  When we submit ourselves to God and resist the devil, the devil—and his lies—will flee from us! (James 4:7)

So resist the devil’s lies and speak the truths!  When you think:

“I’m ugly,” tell yourself these truths: “I am made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). I am awesomely and wonderfully made! (Psalm 139:14)”

When you hear: “I’m not important,” refute it with this truth: “I am so important to God that His thoughts toward me are countless as the sand on the seashore (Psalm 139: 17-18).  And, I am so important that God sent Jesus to die for me, so I can be with Him in heaven!” (John 3:16)

When you feel like “My future is bleak; I have nothing to look forward to.” : Combat it with “God has great plans for my life!” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Or how about this statement?: “I’ll never be enough.”  : Remember that “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

Or that sense of rejection: “I don’t belong.” : can be refuted with “I am accepted (Romans 15:7), and I belong to the family of God.” (Ephesians 2:19)

Sometimes, we may feel like “People don’t care about me.” :  But the truth is that “God himself cares about me.” (1 Peter 5:7)

Or we may feel that “I’m alone.”  :  But actually, “God is always with me.” (Joshua 1:9, John 16:32)

There was a time in my life when all  I could hear was lies: “I have no future.  I’m too scared to move forward.  I’m a failure.  My life is a nightmare.” 

I was trying to finish up a degree program but burning out.  I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to finish the program anymore, and allll the while, the program itself was losing funding and threatening to fold.  Why continue the torture when I wasn’t sure I even wanted to be a speech therapist anymore?  I couldn’t see a future for myself.  At the same time, the relationship I was in was becoming more and more serious and the commitment frightened me.  I was headed toward marriage, but I had only tumultuous and painful pictures of what marriage would be like.  I wanted to escape it all, but I couldn’t, pinned down by anxiety and depression. 

I often had anxiety attacks—restless, beside myself with apprehension, overwhelmed with a sense of dread.  Nothing I did helped until I discovered that reading Bible verses out loud helped me, calmed me. 

Words are powerful.  Amazingly, they roll off our tongues so easily, too quickly; yet, they pack powerIf words humans speak are so influential, how much MORE powerful are the very words of God!  So let us replace the deceptions that have held us down by grasping the powerful truths of our Maker, the one who knows us best!

Whoever made up that little teasing mantra: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!” was ironically blinded by a lie!  Physical wounds will heal, but emotional wounds inflicted by destructive words can last a lifetime without healing.

So, join me as I learn to take care in what I say and what I hear and listen to.  Consciously, intentionally, sift through what you say and what you hear.  Sift it all like wheat.  Let the dry, useless chaff blow away in the wind, and keep the good stuff, the nurturing stuff, the gospel truths!

What are your thoughts today?  Are there any lies that still plague you?  What is the truth?  Write down the lies to increase your awareness of their effects on you and write down next to them—in even bigger and bolder color—the truths and post them where you can see them every day.  Together, we can replace those lies with the truths and flourish in God’s word!

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  In this age of crises all around---from pandemics to riots to natural disasters---it's easy to get overwhelmed by negativity. Join me in my quest for an uncircumstantial joy and liberation by sharing reflections, humor, poetry, practical strategies, and validation.  Let's find that we are not alone, encourage one another to take heart, and be set free from fears and worries! The heart of this blog is to lift our eyes off of the darkness to place our focus on the Lord---thus finding hope & freedom in the midst of crisis.

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