Truth in a World Full of Lies

"The naked truth is always better than the best dressed lie." - Ann Landers

I walked toward the bathroom, knowing that I was not going to like what was waiting for me inside. I stopped at the doorway and took a deep breath as two giggling voices could be heard just on the other side of the door. I opened the door, but nothing could have prepared me for what was inside.

I stood there in disbelief as I looked down on my then 4 year old son and 3 year old daughter covered in nail polish, and my daughter's face was painted like a Picasso gone wrong. Both of them grinning from ear to ear, ignorant to the fact that I was just about to loose my crap on them.

The next several minutes are a bit of a blur...I'm pretty sure there was some yelling and possibly a desire to walk out the door and never look back. But as I scrubbed, and scrubbed & scrubbed some more, I asked my son why?

"Why would you paint your sister's face?" (in a not so nice tone)

His answer is one of the reasons why I just adore this kid, still to this day.

"I wanted her to be pretty like you, mommy" (pouty lip and tear filled eyes)

Now how could I every be upset with that answer?!?

Pretty? I didn't feel very pretty in that moment. I had just lost my cool with both my kids, I was not liking the whole mom bit very much right then and I was beating myself up over the fact that I had left the nail polish out in the first place. And it's moments like this when the lines between truth and lies begin to get a little fuzzy.

These moments of frustrations, moments that seem like failures are the moments when the enemy pounces on us and fills our heads with doubts and lies.

These moments then turn into what we end up writing on the slates of who we are. Pretty soon the lies become our truth.

Today I want to spend some time battling the lies that we tell ourselves, and replace them with words of truth. SUPERADDED truth of who God says we are. You might have to repeat them to yourself everyday, to silence the enemy and believe that YOU ARE WHO GOD SAYS YOU ARE.

LIE: I'm alone

TRUTH: This one makes me want to crank up the Michael Jackson song "You are not alone, I am here with you..." but I digress. The Bible is filled with verses telling us that we are not alone, but one of my favorites and one of my words of truth that I speak over my life is Joshua 1:9 "Be Strong and Courageous...For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Just like the song, God promises us that we are never alone.

LIE: I'm not worthy

TRUTH: This lie is one that I have struggled with the most in my life. I often feel that because of my past mistakes that I am not worthy of God's love and forgiveness. But in Ephesians 1:4 it says "Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes." I say that I'm not worthy but God says that I am chosen and loved.

LIE: I am broken, damaged goods

TRUTH: I often feel weak, damaged and emotionally unstable. I feel broken, used up and unrestorable. But God battles this lie in 1 Peter 2:24 "By His wounds you are healed" No matter how broken you feel, Jesus died to restore you and make you whole again.

LIE: No one loves me or likes me

TRUTH: If you have grown up in a broken home, suffered a divorce, lost people close to you; the enemy is great at telling us that it's our fault, that we must be unworthy of love or we are unloveable. But God tells us in Jeremiah 31:3 that He has "loved us with an everlasting love. With an unfailing love and he has drawn us close to Him" You are loved and you are worthy of love.

WORDS OF TRUTH: I am going to share with all of you a list of words of truth that I speak over my own life. Many of these have been passed down and shared with me from others who also use words of truth, but I have also added some of my own.

I was introduced to words of truth about a year ago, and, since we are being honest today, I still have a very hard time believing many of them about myself. But I have recently discovered a new way of speaking them over my life. One of the best ways to begin to believe them is to speak them out loud. For the longest time I could only get through 2-3 before I would start crying. I did this for MONTHS!!

But then one day I was watching Grey's Anatomy and one of the surgeons (Dr. Amelia Shepherd for those of you who share in this guilty pleasure) was preparing for surgery and she stood in a powerful, hands on her hips, Superman pose! Now who can cry and feel wimpy when they are doing a Superman pose? Not this girl! It has been a game changer for me and the confidence to speak over my life continues to grow.

So now every morning, I stand facing the bathroom mirror, hands on my hips, head held high and I imagine myself defeating the enemy with every statement of truth that I speak over my life.

Find what works for you, but find a way to silence the enemy and lessen the hold that he has on you, your thoughts, your feelings and your emotions. Remember that light drives out darkness, and love drives out hate. Speak God's truth and light over your life everyday.

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1. I AM A CHILD OF GOD (Galatians 3:26)(John 1:12-13)

2. I AM ALIVE (Romans 6:11)

3. I AM A MASTERPIECE (Ephesians 2:10)

4. I AM CHOSEN (Ephesians 1:4)

5. I AM JOYFUL (Galatians 5:22-23)

6. I AM GENTLE (Galatians 5:22-23)

7. I AM PATIENT (Galatians 5:22-23)

8. I AM KIND (Galatians 5:22-23)

9. I AM FAITHFUL (Galatians 5:22-23)

10. I HAVE SELF CONTROL (Galatians 5:22-23)

11. I AM KNOWN - EVEN BEFORE I WAS BORN (Jeremiah 1:5)

12. I AM LOVED (John 3:16)

13. I AM FREE (John 8:32)

14. I AM HEALED (1 Peter 2:24)

15. I AM NOT ASHAMED (Romans 1:8)

16. GOD HAS A PLAN FOR MY LIFE (Jeremiah 29:11)

17. I AM STRONG (1 John 2:14)

18. I AM FEARLESS (Isaiah 43:5)

19. I AM SECURE (John 10:28-29)

20. I AM A NEW CREATION (2 Corinthians 5:17)

21. I AM BORN AGAIN (1 Peter 1:23)

22. THE SAME POWER THAT ROSE JESUS FROM THE GRAVE LIVES IN ME (Romans 8:11)

23. I AM MIGHTY IN HIS POWER (Ephesians 6:10)

24. THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH (Nehemiah 8:10)

25. I WILL ACT JUSTLY, LOVE MERCY, AND WALK HUMBLY WITH MY GOD (Micah 6:8)

26. I WILL FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT (2 Timothy 4:7)

27. I LOVE THE LORD MY GOD WITH ALL MY HEART, WITH ALL MY SOUL, WITH ALL MY MIND AND WITH ALL MY STRENGTH. I ALSO LOVE MY NEIGHBOR AS MYSELF. (Mark 12:29-31)

28. I AM NO LONGER A SLAVE TO FEAR (Galatians 4:7)

29. MY CHILDREN ARE A GIFT FROM THE LORD, THEY ARE A REWARD FROM HIM. (Psalms 127:3)

30. I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH (Philippians 4:13)

31. I HAVE AUTHORITY OVER THE ENEMY (Luke 10:19)

32. I AM A GOOD FRIEND (Proverbs 27:9)

33. I WILL NOT BE AFRAID, BECAUSE GOD IS WITH ME (Isaiah 41:10)

34. I WILL RELY ON GOD'S STRENGTH, BECAUSE WHEN I AM WEAK HE IS STRONG (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

35. I AM NOT A MESS; I AM NOT A FAILURE; I AM NOT WORTHLESS' I AM NOT A MISTAKE; I AM JUST UNFINISHED. (Philippians 1:6)

36. I AM WHO GOD SAYS I AM (Ephesians 2:10)

37. I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE (Psalms 139:14)

38. I BELIEVE THAT GOD CAN; I BELIEVE THAT GOD WILL; BUT EVEN IF HE DOESN'T, I STILL BELIEVE (Daniel 3:18)

39. I CHOOSE TO FOCUS ON ONLY GOOD THINGS (Philippians 4:4-8)

40. I CHOOSE FORGIVENESS (Colossians 3:13)

41. I AM SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH (Ephesians 2:8-9)

42. I WILL FIND COMFORT IN GOD (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

I have many more, but I encourage you to find statements and verses that work for your life. As you read these, if any of them cause you to take pause or bring up an emotional response, chances are the enemy is telling you a lie about one of these areas in your life.

Let me pray for you:

Father God,

You are so good to us. As we discover You and the truths that You tell us, help us to have the courage to face the enemy and to speak these words over our lives. God we are a broken, hurting people and we are so thankful for your love and comfort when the lies of this world leave us feeling less than who You say we are. God I pray for every person who is reading this today. God I pray for freedom from the lies that the enemy has been telling them. God open their hearts to hear Your truths, and bring healing to the hurting places of their souls. God send your Holy Spirit to comfort them and give them Your strength. - Amen.