The Truth About Lies
We shouldn’t tell lies. We all know this, of course. From a young age, we are taught that lying is wrong. If we were caught telling a lie we were punished and would be required to go and confess to whomever we had deceived.
When we become Christians, conviction enters in. I don’t know about you, but any time I find I have been even the slightest bit dishonest with someone, the Holy Spirit convicts me and I can’t rest until I’ve made it right.
But there are lies we don’t tell to others. And although they don’t involve other people, they can be far more damaging. They cut us down, and they undermine who we are as God’s children.
These are the lies we tell ourselves.
These lies tell us that we are worthless, incompetent, and forsaken. That we never do anything right. That we are unforgivable and unlovable. That we aren’t strong enough and will never amount to anything. That we are terrible wives, daughters, or mothers.
We repeat these lies to ourselves so often we don’t even recognize them anymore. We believe them as truth, and once that happens it becomes very difficult for real truth to make its way in.
We are not responsible for every thought that comes into our minds—Ephesians 6 tells us the enemy attacks us with these “flaming arrows”. We are, however, responsible for what we do with thoughts once they arise. Do we accept the lies and put them on repeat, or do we reject them and replace them with God’s truth?
The truth is God doesn’t make junk. He didn’t create anything that is useless. Ephesians 2:10 tells us “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (NIV) “Handiwork” is defined as “something that one has made or done; work done by the hands; work done personally.”
God personally made you. Think about that for a moment. He stopped everything He was doing, turned His full and careful attention to you, and lovingly crafted you to perfection—your skills, your personality, your physical makeup, all of it. He knows what you are capable of doing and what brings you joy. He knows your quirks and your weaknesses. He loves it all, and He made you the way you are for a purpose.
But He wasn’t done yet. He created you again through the redeeming sacrifice of His Son, and now He can really get to work—refining, molding, and teaching you. Every day He is working on and in you to create something new and beautiful—someone He can use to bring glory to Himself, and to help seek out and round up His children who do not yet know Whose they are.
How can we shine God’s light into the lives of others when we are casting darkness over ourselves? How can we lift others up when we are so busy tearing ourselves down? How can we serve God when we have talked ourselves into believing we are incapable of doing so?
Stop believing the lies. Don’t adopt the enemy’s words as your own. Know and speak only God’s truth over yourself. There are no accidents in God’s Kingdom, and that includes you!