I was reading Bryan Allan’s 2009 re-cap and I came across this post. By the way if you have never read his blog, you should. He cracks me up!
Instead of a New Year’s resolution post, I figure I will take Bryan’s challenge and share some of the lies I tend to believe about myself. Satan likes to attack me with these lies, and even when I know they are lies I still fall in their trap many times. Satan likes me to believe things that are just not true. So I will begin this new year trying to tackle them head-on with God’s power.
Here’s a few of the many lies that I deal with on a consistent basis:
Lie #1 — I will never be good enough.
I feel like I should be Stuart Smalley who recites, “Because I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and, doggonit, people like me!”
I like to surround myself with good teachers, mothers who are great at what they do, women who are organized and can help me become more organized, speakers who are good at communicating, and authors who know the right words to say. It is good to surround yourself with these people, but at the same time I would love to the be the one who is teaching others (who has vast knowledge of things). I want to make an impact on others the same way others have impacted me.
Instead I don’t feel there is anything I am good enough at, to help others. I know this is a lie Satan wants me to believe. Even reading that in print makes me cringe. To believe I have anything to offer is a sin Satan wants me to believe. It is only God working through me, that makes it possible for me to help others. It is when you give your weaknesses and failures to Christ, then he can use you to impact others. If we try to do it in our own power, we will be like the hamster spinning the wheel.
Lie #2 — You have to have the perfect looking Christian family.
When you attend church you have the father who is active in everything, the mother who volunteers, and the children who attend every time the doors open. If you don’t you fall short of the expectation your church has for you. If your family does not fit the perfect “Christian” family mold, then others wonder if your Christian walk is suffering. Or maybe they think you are walking away from the faith. This is a big lie I struggle with. Because my family does not fit into that mold, I struggle with the lie that we will never “fit in.”
My husband’s mission field is on the basketball course. Many don’t see how we drive many kids around who would not normally be able to participate. My husband gives his time day in and day out, loving on these kids. Giving them stronger self esteem. Kids from 5 years old and up. If you talk to any child who has spent time with my husband they will tell you they look up to him. We have kids hang out at our house, just so they could have the security of an older man being a role model. But that is not seen inside the church doors, and really most people don’t see any of that. My husband’s outreach may look a lot different, but it is impacting lives. But I am the only one that can toot his horn, for he NEVER will.
I strongly believe in supporting your church, God command it! I love my church, but I struggle with the lie that if we don’t have our mission field within the walls of the church then we are not part of the mold. It is a lie Satan places in my path constantly. It breads insecurity. But I know if we follow in the mission field God gives us, then we are being faithful. And my church has been nothing but loving. So this is a lie from Satan I hope to fight with God’s help.
Lie #3 — Who the ever told you, you could write?
In 2009 I was published for the first time in the devotional book Pearl Girls. I will admit to anyone within ear shot, I am the worst speller around. Satan wants me to believe because of these limitations, Pearl Girls was just a one time event. That I don’t have what it takes to be published again.
Granted I don’t have the time to sit and write during this season of life, but I have writing ideas to work on once my kids are older. =)
I am going to end this post the same way Bryan did. “I’m not asking you to share your struggles here – though you can if you like – but have you sat down recently and thought about the lies you might be believing? Are you believing things about yourself or your circumstances that just aren’t true and may actually be harmful to you?”
I have found actually writing out some of the lies I believe will help me tackle the ways Satan likes to trip me up.
See you in the New Year!
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