Lie #2 from Nancy DeMoss's book Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free:
"God Doesn't Love Me".
Like Lie # 1, few of us would rarely admit that we believe this. We KNOW he loves us. We've been saved by the blood of the Lamb! God sent Himself to Earth in the form of man to die for our sins! Why? Because He loves us. We KNOW it.
But.....do we believe that he loves us? Do we believe that He cares about the minute details of our lives....and loves us in the intimate and personal way we long for?
When you look around and see things falling apart, prayers seem not only unanswered but unheard, and you feel as if something doesn't give you're going to drown in all the lemonade (when life you gives you lemons.....) and tears come more often than laughter, how do you honestly answer that question?
Does the Deceiver lure you in with his lie? "God doesn't hear your prayers.....look at how long you've been praying and what you're praying for is a good thing", he may whisper. "If God really loved you, why wouldn't He give this to you?" When the storms of life wear you thin, do you ever find yourself thinking, "If God really loved me....it wouldn't be this hard. He just doesn't care." When you feel unloved by everyone, do you doubt the love of God as well?
The Enemy loves to attack everyone in particular areas, most often in an area that can also be a great asset. He often targets us through our feelings. Our feelings can make us love deeply, give us compassion and mercy for others and serve as a catalyst for much good that we do. I think they can also, however, be one of Satan's greatest tools of deception for us. We have a tendency to throw caution to the wind, trust what we feel to be true and toss what we know to be true out the window. This is a recurring point throughout the book because it is completely fundamental to the way we as women are designed and learning to get it under control is crucial to overcoming and resisting the lies that come at us constantly.
So, what about me? As I look back on the progression from deception to bondage.....
- Listen to a lie
- Dwell on the lie
- Believe the lie
- Act on the lie
......is this an issue for me?
Sigh.
Unfortunately, Yes.
I *KNOW* He loves me. But as I said in an earlier post, he knows where we're weak. He knows where our insecurities lie and that's what he aims for. I suspect my insecurity in this area is tied to by a lie that comes later in the book (I'm one of those people that always looks ahead......and often finds out the ending before she's made her way through the first half of the book). Often, there's a place somewhere in our lives where fears and insecurities take root and grow.......stretching our their greedy tentacles to affect other areas as well. Satan whispers this lie to me often in some form or another. He is sometimes unrelenting with this one.
Do I listen to it? Sometimes.
If I listen to it, do I dwell on it? Sometimes, depending on how discouraged I am.
Do I believe it? No.
I haven't always been able to give that answer and it is with no pride that I give it now. I have been blessed to have traveled this road before ~ the road of exposing Satan's lies. The value of having an unwavering faith, attending a solid Bible-believing church, of being surrounded by Bible-believing friends, and of being exposed to other solid Biblically grounded resources is immeasurable. God has used so many things, including homeschooling, to play a significant role in shaping me, strengthening me, and opening my eyes to Satan's lies and my heart to the Father's truths. I'll share further as I make my way through this book ~ ways He has taught me to recognize the lies and cast His light and love over the places where the Deceiver worms his way into my life, seeking to cause me to stumble, to falter, to render me ineffective in the body of Christ.
When I feel He doesn't love me ~ sometimes I do listen. Sometimes I do still entertain the notion and dwell there........but even as I wallow, there's a part of me that constantly calls, soothingly sings to me, gently whispers ~ waiting for me to Stop, Look, and Listen. The Holy Spirit lives within me, because as a 14 yr.-old girl I came to Him with a broken heart and surrendered every part of myself. His love is always there....and He doesn't allow me to stay disillusioned for long.
If we allow Him to grow us, allow His Truths to take root and release us from the bondage Satan is determine to keep us in, we learn to Stop letting our feelings control us, Look for the ways that He loves us ~ His love is abundant and plentiful and surrounding us (He shows me His love in blue eyes - 3 sets of them -that adore me despite my faults, in a pantry and fridge full of food despite strained finances, in a warmth on a cold winter's day, in a song played just for me at just the right time......) and Listen to what we know to be true and is stronger and louder than whatever noise Satan is making.
Does God really LOVE me? YES.
Does He really LOVE you? Yes, He does.
Jesus Loves Me, This I KNOW, for the Bible tells me so. It's actually that simple. Believe it......because it's TRUE. No matter how we feel.
I haven't always been able to give that answer and it is with no pride that I give it now. I have been blessed to have traveled this road before ~ the road of exposing Satan's lies. The value of having an unwavering faith, attending a solid Bible-believing church, of being surrounded by Bible-believing friends, and of being exposed to other solid Biblically grounded resources is immeasurable. God has used so many things, including homeschooling, to play a significant role in shaping me, strengthening me, and opening my eyes to Satan's lies and my heart to the Father's truths. I'll share further as I make my way through this book ~ ways He has taught me to recognize the lies and cast His light and love over the places where the Deceiver worms his way into my life, seeking to cause me to stumble, to falter, to render me ineffective in the body of Christ.
When I feel He doesn't love me ~ sometimes I do listen. Sometimes I do still entertain the notion and dwell there........but even as I wallow, there's a part of me that constantly calls, soothingly sings to me, gently whispers ~ waiting for me to Stop, Look, and Listen. The Holy Spirit lives within me, because as a 14 yr.-old girl I came to Him with a broken heart and surrendered every part of myself. His love is always there....and He doesn't allow me to stay disillusioned for long.
If we allow Him to grow us, allow His Truths to take root and release us from the bondage Satan is determine to keep us in, we learn to Stop letting our feelings control us, Look for the ways that He loves us ~ His love is abundant and plentiful and surrounding us (He shows me His love in blue eyes - 3 sets of them -that adore me despite my faults, in a pantry and fridge full of food despite strained finances, in a warmth on a cold winter's day, in a song played just for me at just the right time......) and Listen to what we know to be true and is stronger and louder than whatever noise Satan is making.
Does God really LOVE me? YES.
Does He really LOVE you? Yes, He does.
Jesus Loves Me, This I KNOW, for the Bible tells me so. It's actually that simple. Believe it......because it's TRUE. No matter how we feel.
“Though our feelings come and go, God’s love for us does not.” ~ C.S. Lewis
Take the TRUTH of God's word, grab yourself a nice, big glass of lemonade (that you made from all those lemons in life), sit back and relax, and dwell on it. Stubbornly. Faithfully. Keep marching on and rejoice in what you know in spite of allowing your emotions toss you around and batter you as the storms rage on. His LOVE will come through......and you will feel it, sure and strong, where it was all along ~ His love never fails, never leaves, never forsakes us.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16
Linking up with Some Girl's Website and Signs, Miracles and Wonders:
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." - Galatians 2:20
"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands." - Deuteronomy 7:9
"For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. . . "- Psalm 37:28
"I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me." - Proverbs 8:17
"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." –
1 John 4:9-11
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
(mute the player at the bottom of the page to watch/listen to this video)
Linking up with Some Girl's Website and Signs, Miracles and Wonders:
1 comment:
Thank you for this. It was just what I needed to hear today!
Post a Comment