Monday, September 2, 2013

Lies Women Believe

I tried to contain this topic to just one post, and I find that it continues to spill over into my life each day.  Maybe it's a comment someone makes, or in an email I received, or a comment on a post.  Women everywhere believe so many lies.  And what they don't realize is just how toxic these lies are.  Many times, they don't even realize that they are lies.

As my husband and I talked about these lies, we came up with an idea for a series about the lies that women believe.  Posts focused on individual lies that I myself have wrestled with over the years and have learned how to refute.
I was shocked at the amount of responses I received from what I am now considering my first post in this series:  My Weight Made Him Stray.  The feedback on this post showed me that there are so many women holding on to lie after lie, and not just about their weight.

The following is from a song called "Father Of All Lies" by Siebenburgen.  I am in no way vouching for the song itself, but I found the lyrics interesting.

Welcome to my world below
I grant thee pleasures unknown
Bestow thy sins, forfeit thy soul
Praise me as thou fall...
Cast thy self before me
Pray on bended knee
Be my shadow, serve my ways
As given unto thee

Satan is described as the father of lies.  There is a section in the book of John that talks about the children of the devil.  When first reading it, I think, that's not me!  Right?  Do you read this passage and think that you are in that category?

Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."

I still hesitate to say this, but I truly believe it needs to be said.

When I believe the lie that my weight made my husband turn to pornography, who am I listening to?

The devil.

This is a jaw-dropping  revelation to me.  I knew that it was important to recognize the truth in my mind from the lies.  I knew that it was wrong to believe the lies that bombarded my thinking.  But I don't know that I ever really read that passage like I did today.

If we are unable to hear God's truth, if I understand these verses correctly, our allegiance lies with the devil.  Listening to and believing the lies that we are told is carrying out Satan's desires.  Do you see that?  There is NO truth in him!  If that is true, and we believe his lies, we are following the wrong leader.

I love the last half where it's written that Jesus said he tells the truth and we don't believe him.  We-who listen to the lies that the enemy whispers into our minds, lies that bind us up in shackles-we are so used to the devil's lies that we don't believe God when he tells us the truth!  This shocked me, as I realized that that was exactly what I had done for 30 years of my life.

You know, I thought that I had learned all that I could about these lies I used to believe.  God showed me early on into my marriage restoration that I had been deceived and needed to recognize and refute those lies.  But I realize now that the problem was much deeper than that.

Here is the truth in this passage.  God is truth.  It is at the essence of who he is.  He cannot lie.

God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Numbers 23:19

So if we do not hear God, because we are listening to lies from the devil, technically we do not belong to God.  I know this sounds harsh, but think about it this way.  If you struggle with this, like I did for decades, I think that simply means that there is just more work that God wants to do in your heart.  It isn't the end of everything.  You can change.  You don't have to align yourself with the father of lies.  You can learn to recognize the lies, rebuke them, and surrender those negative thoughts and feelings to God.  He is truth.

And he speaks the truth.  So when God tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, we can be confident that it is true.

No one is excluded from God or the Gospel of Christ.

Not even you.

And I want to touch on one other truth in that passage from Numbers.  If God does not change his mind, is there really anything you can do that will cause him to change his opinion of you?

NO.

It's that simple.  He does not change his mind.  He doesn't care what you look like or what you do.  He cares about what really matters:  your heart.  And he will never change his mind.

So you can believe that what he says about you is true.

And he will not, he cannot, change his mind.

This should fill you with hope!



If you wrestle any lies, as so many women do, please be sure to watch for the upcoming posts in this series and follow along.  This is a subject that is so close to my heart and I don't want anyone to stay shackled to these lies.  It is my prayer that God will show you his truth, speak it to your heart, and break the chains; I pray that you will join me in standing up against the devil's lies.

Are there other lies you want me to address?  Leave a comment and let me know!

Also in this series:
Lies Women Believe - My Weight Made Him Stray
Lies Women Believe - Mom Guilt: I'm A Failure

3 comments:

  1. "I have to dress revealingly for him to love me." I believe any man that wants his wife to walk the streets have naked has no respect for her...

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    1. Thank you for sharing your thoughts/this lie. I know that this isn't an uncommon topic with women. I think it shows just how corrupt our world is and how much hold the devil has over the mind of men in this area specifically. I can't imagine a man wanting his wife to flaunt herself for other men to see, but I know this isn't uncommon. Maybe they don't think about how other men will view her? Maybe they do. I'll add this to my list of lies to write about.

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