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Fear and Lies

All people find it easier to believe a lie instead of the truth. But just as light drives away the darkest of darkness, the smallest truth can immediately dispel the biggest lies. Exorcising the most anxious scenario from your mind will diminish its hold on you. Like rehearsing lines before a play or an instrument before a recital or plays before a game, when you practice confronting your greatest fears, the power they hold begins to weaken. 

I believe a bedrock lie lurks at the root of every unhealthy choice we make, every fear we allow to dominate us, and every dysfunctional pattern we cycle through over and over again. If we can learn how to identify these bedrock lies, we can dig out their root and finally halt the cycle of bad choices and self-destructive behavior.

This, friends, is exactly what we are going to do this week. In identifying and unpacking common bedrock lies, we will overcome the questions and problems that have plagued us for ages and walk with new freedom into God’s peace. I want to expose the power of lies we listen to. I want to show you how to identify the lie and fight the lie. I want you to overcome.

I’ve learned the quickest and most accurate way to tell the difference between a lie and the truth is to tune in to the way it makes me feel about myself, others, and God.

A lie isolates me, accuses me, and condemns me. It makes me feel shame.

The truth challenges me, invites me, and liberates me. It makes me feel free.

This is always the design. If we can pay attention to the pattern of lies we listen to, we can predict the process. We can prepare to find the lie and fight the lie. Here’s how lies work: if we believe lies long enough, they infiltrate, insinuate, intimidate, and re-create.

Once our eyes are opened to the intent, we can predict the outcome and preempt the process. This undertaking is for you but it’s also for me. I’m telling myself the same things I’m sharing with you, because overcoming the lies that hold us down is a process that’s never completely finished. It’s a lifelong journey that requires daily attention.

Prayer: God, allow me to see the pattern surrounding the lies I believe about myself, my circumstances, and especially You. Help me to replace fear with truth and wisdom in my innermost being.