Lie's We're Told #5

My life will never get better.  (Ruth 1)

Naomi had reached her breaking point. First, her husband died and then both her sons, leaving behind their destitute young widows. Naomi couldn’t even take care of herself. How in the world was she supposed to care for them too? So she packed up and moved home, back to her people. Back to the familiar. She had left her homeland full of promise, a glowing bride on the arm of her Prince Charming. She was returning a broken and bitter old woman who had given up on life. Everyone who met her heard about it. She had Bitter Brain Disease and left a trail of despair germs everywhere she went.

Because life had dealt harshly with Naomi, she adopted the mindset we often take: “This is how it will always be.” We want to write “The End” after a grueling season and grumble, “Well, that’s how that turned out.” But God reminds us that it is His book and it hasn’t “turned out” yet. That was only a chapter. Most good books have some scary chapters: hair-raising, nail-biting, what’s-gonna-happen page-turners that your nerves couldn’t stand if it was like that the whole way through. But it’s not. It’s only a couple of chapters. So it is with our lives. No matter how bad the season, we must never fall for the lie that our lives will never get better. With God, all things are possible. Second chances are the norm and new beginnings are in the next chapter.

Have you believed the lie that your life will never get better? 

You’re counting on a future without God.

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Lies We're Told #4

 What will people think?  (Luke 1:26-38)

If anyone had the right to worry about what people might think, it was Mary. Her teenage dreams, good reputation, and dreamy fiancé faded into the background when the angel showed up and ruined everything. That’s how Mary could have looked at it. In order to say yes to God, she had to say no to her reputation and her plans for her own life. Nobody would believe her story. She wasn’t sure she believed it herself. Unmarried teenage virgins did not show up pregnant and expect people to understand. Yet, her answer to the angel would define eternity for herself and millions of others. She could worry about what people thought, or she could care only what God thought. Thankfully, Mary’s decision was not affected by what people might think.

We all face that decision in different ways. “I think God wants me to _____, but what will people think?” “I want to lift my hands in worship, but what will people think?” “I need to share Jesus with my coworker, but what will he think?” The fear of people’s opinions has robbed us of more blessing and growth than we probably realize. The truth is that people are not thinking about us at all. They’re too busy worrying what other people think about them. Mary rejected that lie in order to accept God’s assignment. She refused to let “What will people think?” cast a vote in her decision. We can do that too.

How big a role does “What will people think?” play in your decisions? Does it cause you to disobey God?

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Lies We're Told #3

My worth is connected to how someone else feels about me.  (Genesis 29:31-34)

Leah had always felt invisible. Maybe a bit overweight, squinty eyes, an overbite, awkward. People looked right past her to gawk at her gorgeous little sister, Rachel. Ever since high heels replaced Barbie dolls, Rachel’s social calendar had been full and big sister had resigned herself to the fact that she would never be anyone’s first choice. But then dashing Jacob showed up and her heart turned inside out. Of course, Jacob was crazy about Rachel (who wasn’t?), but Dad pulled an underhanded switcheroo and Leah ended up in the bridal chamber instead. She prayed all night that marriage would change Jacob’s mind, but it didn’t. She was not who Jacob wanted. She was not who anyone wanted. Maybe she was even invisible to God.

But then she had a baby boy. “Surely my husband will love me now,” she thought. Nope. Three more babies, and each time hot tears stung Leah’s eyes as Jacob smiled at the baby, nodded to her, and walked back to Rachel. Leah had given him all she had—and it didn’t matter. She didn’t matter. Maybe you’ve been there. You rescued, surrendered your purity, or deadened your soul hoping that someone would make you feel valuable. “Surely they’ll love me now,” you thought, but it didn’t work. You gave all you had and it didn’t matter. But guess what Leah learned? When her fourth son was born, she named him Judah, which means “praise.” She’d stopped looking to Jacob for her worth. She realized that her value was not tied to someone else’s opinion. Her worth came from the One who created her. God saw her. He valued her. And that was all that mattered.

Who are you expecting to validate your worth? 

If it’s anyone other than God, they will let you down. 

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Lies We're Told #2

My past disqualifies me.  (Joshua 2:1-21, 6:25; James 2:25)

All she’d known from men was rejection and abuse. As long as she could remember, she’d been selling her soul for a few coins. Life was hard, but her heart was harder, softened only by stories of Israel’s strange God. The idols of Jericho certainly couldn’t do miracles. They didn’t love, provide, and protect like the God of Israel did. Imagine being part of nation with a God like that! But their God didn’t want women like Rahab. A prostitute. A foreigner. He was holy. Perfect. She was who she was, and nothing could change that. Her course had been set before she was born, so she might as well stop dreaming.   

Then…a knock on her door. Men again, but these men were from Israel and they needed protection. Israel? Hope flickered inside Rahab’s heart. These men knew the God she’d heard about! How odd that of all the houses in Jericho they’d chosen hers. Could it be that their God saw her after all? In one courageous act of faith, Rahab the prostitute became Rahab the Israelite. Because she chose to trust that Israel’s God could change her future, her past crumbled with the walls of Jericho. When she joined God’s people, she left her old identity behind and joyfully accepted the one God gave her. In fact, she married a godly Israelite man, became the great-grandmother of King David, and God picked her to be an ancestor of Jesus Christ.

Your past no longer disqualifies you when you surrender to the God of Israel.

He changes your identity. 

Lies We're Told #1

I am not enough. (Genesis 3)

Eve laughed aloud because she liked the sound of it when it bounced off the cool blue water and echoed from the distant hills. She smiled at her reflection and marveled again at the goodness of her Creator. How magnificent He was to make her so much like Him! Another face appeared in the pool beside her and she felt an instant chill. This smile did not warm her as the Creator’s did. The serpentine face pressed against her hair and whispered, “You don’t quite have what it takes, my dear. God is holding out on you. You could be better than you are: prettier, smarter, wiser. Stick with me. I have what you need.” He set her up, knowing that if she listened, sin would rob her of the joy and purpose for which she was created.

Our first mother set the pace for us. Since the day she listened to the serpent, we’ve been falling for the same line. Our joy at all God has given us can plummet into despair with one hiss. We start to feel good about our lives, but then from the depths of hell comes a growl: “We’ll see about that.” Evil flips on a TV commercial that convinces us we’re stupid, ugly, poor, boring, or have bad breath. He directs us to Polly Perfect’s Facebook post showing off her kindergartner’s acceptance letter from Harvard or a tweet from a semi-friend bragging about his new yacht. Then our enemy offers his commentary: “You don’t have what it takes. God is holding out on you. Stick with me. I have what you need.” He sets us up, knowing that sin will rob us of joy and purpose. He blinds us to the truth that with Jesus as Lord of our lives, we are already more than enough (Romans 8:37). 

Who told you that you are not enough? 

That voice you hear in the back of your heart is not God’s. 

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