Pulling Back the Curtain

I remember watching The Wizard of Oz when I was a little girl and loving the moment when Toto pulled back the curtain to reveal the so-called wizard was nothing more than a man hiding behind a bunch of special effects.

Ah. The truth. Don’t you just love it?

While I was praying about some of the devastating, heartbreaking things happening in the world and in my own life and in the lives of those I love, I thought about that curtain and the man hiding behind it.

Only I realized who’s hiding out and wreaking havoc in our lives today is not a man but our enemy. Satan.

The enemy is hiding, not behind some physical curtain, but behind his schemes, trying to make us turn on each other. He’s trying to discourage and distract us from following God’s calling.

Satan is trying to make such a loud racket in order to steal our focus away from Jesus Christ. The enemy is hoping we’ll get sucked into his “special effects” so we’ll cower in fear. Or lower our heads in discouragement.

We lose hope and that’s just what he wants. He’s trying to veer us off course and aim us straight for a cliff.

How?

Anger. The enemy loves to see us get angry and turn on each other. He tries to fill our minds with hateful thoughts, lies, and rumors, egging us on to spread them like some toxic seed. Actually, rumors are the fuses leading to Satan’s lies and when someone gets too close out of curiosity, it explodes and causes massive destruction to more than just that one person.

Don’t fall for it. Seek the truth in all things and hold onto it.

Satan is trying to take us down one by one, family by family, community by community as he hides in the shadows, laughing at how we’re falling for everything he throws our way – like a bunch of fish with our mouths gaping wide open as we clamp onto his wretched bait.

Satan is our enemy, not each other.

Now more than ever, we need to read God’s Word. Now more than ever, we need to pray and ask God for wisdom and discernment.

And now more than ever, we need to LOVE like never before by being the Christians we’re claiming to be and not giving into hate, anger, deceit, and wickedness.

It’s time we pull back the “curtain,” my friends, and see what’s going on. It’s time we stand strong, united, to shine God’s light into the dark crevices of Satan’s lies and watch as those lies shrink and lose their so-called power.

Please, I’m asking as your Sister in Christ, please read and study God’s Word with me and prepare for battle. The war has already begun. We need to be self-controlled and alert. We need to be watchful.

And we need to stand strong together as a united front on this battleground, dressed and ready as we slice through Satan’s lies with the sword God has given us:

The Word of God.

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11 ESV.)

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:12-13 NIV.)

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:17-18 NIV.)

“It [love] is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:5-6 NIV.)

 “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” (1 Corinthians 13:7 NLT.)

“Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:8a NIV.)

“Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.” (Colossians 3:14 NLT.)

 

(Photo from pexels.com.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Focusing on God

Do you struggle with past failures? I do. And sometimes it can be really hard during quiet days because the enemy tries to sneak his lies into our thoughts:

You totally messed up.

You really hurt them.

You call yourself a Christian?

They never wanted you around anyway.

You don’t matter.

You’re replaceable.

They’re waiting for you to fail.

Suffocating? Good.

Feel that squeeze? Even better.

God is so disappointed in you.

Now wait just a minute. When you set your focus on following God instead of pleasing everyone else, God is NOT going to be disappointed in you.

So just relax. Whatever game the enemy is trying to play, put up your hand and say, “I’m out.” (Or you can whisper, “Jesus” or start singing and praising God and that old devil will flee!)

And you don’t have to follow the enemy when he tries to take you on his twisted ride down memory lane, searching for what you may or may not have done wrong.

Pray and ask God what you can do about it today. If He tells you, “Just keep your eyes on Me,” then you have your answer. If He tells you to make a call, pray, or forgive someone (that someone could be YOU!), then obey Him.

Always, in all things, obey God and trust that He has every right answer and every right step you will ever need to take. (Thank you, Lord!)

Just like a lovely blossom that grows from a cactus, there is beauty and surprising wonder in the battle for our souls when we focus on following God and pleasing Him and Him alone.

And there is always victory.

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.” (Isaiah 26:3-4 NIV.)

The Hallway and the Door

When God calls you to step forward and walk through the door He’s opening for you, you’ve got to be careful you don’t get stuck standing in the hallway.

In the hallway, you can convince yourself you’re not ready or you’re not good enough. Or maybe the door isn’t opened all the way; there’s only a sliver of light cutting through the shadowy hallway and that scares you. Let’s face it, you’d rather stay where you know what to expect. There are no surprises in the hallway except the occasional dust bunny parachuting from the ceiling to land on your head.

Or maybe you’re too busy. That’s right, you’ve got a dozen or so loads of laundry to do, the kitchen cupboards need rearranged, and the grass needs cut. Maybe you need to frost a hundred cupcakes for a bake sale, and you need to go to the store to buy a new surge protector for your laptop.

You can convince yourself you don’t have the time for the door and whatever is inside, so you tell God, “Today doesn’t work for me. Maybe tomorrow.”

So you busy yourself and hurry through the hallway to gather the dirty laundry. And while you’re doing that, you notice the photographs hanging on the walls. You stop and remember the past, the colors of those failures so vivid. You look away. It’s too painful. But when you turn, you find yourself reminiscing over another photograph, one you cherish. You wonder if things will ever be that good again. You feel out of sorts, mixed up, and confused like someone is playing Ping-Pong with your emotions.

Satan is doing all he can to get you to linger here so he can whisper his lies, wreaking havoc on your heart and causing every emotional outburst or breakdown imaginable. You see, then he’s not only discouraging you, but he’s stealing your time too. It’s a double whammy.

And let’s not forget how Satan loves to steal your time by distracting you. He’s going to whisper your to-do list in your ear, reminding you how all of those things are so much more important than some silly door. While he’s at it, he will probably tell you you’re not hearing from God anyway and that the door before you isn’t even for you; it’s for someone more qualified and capable. The enemy will tell you you’d better stick with rearranging those kitchen cupboards; someone might come over and see how you’ve got the canned corn mixed in with a box of rice and think you’re completely unorganized and a real slob.

But wait a minute. God pointed out that door to you, didn’t He? And you’ve been praying about it for such a long time, and now it’s opening…

Keep moving, my friend! Don’t turn back now, and don’t let your precious time get swallowed up by distractions, procrastination, or doubt. And don’t keep pacing back and forth with that to-do list in your hand, the one you made for yourself.

Go with the one task God has given you today. Move closer to that door. And if it’s not open all the way when you get to it, pray. Perhaps you’re to knock on it and it will swing wide open when you do.

And when it does open and you take that step and cross the threshold into God’s will for your life, you’re going to realize it’s so much better than hanging out in the hallway with a liar and a bunch of dust bunnies.

Instead, you’ll be living joyfully, immersed in God’s presence, and doing what He’s called and created you to do.

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17 ESV.)

“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” (Psalm 16:11 NLT.)

The Suitcase – Letting Go

Hauling around past failures, regrets, and hurts in a ridiculously large suitcase (of course it’s large, there’s a lot of that stuff, right?) is exhausting. And just when you think you’ve got a good grip on it and can handle it, or maybe you’ve figured out how to hide it so you can forget about it, you find yourself tripping over the contents that have spilled out in an ugly display at your feet.

You hear laughter.

What in the world is going on? What are these painful things, these ugly memories doing all over the place? You loaded them up a long time ago and stashed the suitcase. Somewhere. In your closet or maybe in the basement where you store all the musty things from your past you hope to forget.

But there they are: the very details of your past glaring at you. They’re not forgotten at all but were merely hidden. And as you bend to pick them up and shove them inside, ONE MORE TIME, you realize this is like the millionth time you’ve done this and the simple act of touching these things again and hurrying to get them out of sight is absolutely draining.

Tears are landing in fat plops on that big failure of yours; the one where you think you let everyone down. And you feel sick to your stomach when you shove the memory of someone who unknowingly crushed your spirit back into the suitcase. What is it? A photograph? A note; the careless words used lightly, still weighing heavily on your heart? You’re not sure what it is, you can’t even see it because everything is a blur, but you can feel it in your hands. The pain is still very real. You give it a good crumple and thrust it back in the suitcase.

Your face is soaked and your heart is aching all over again as you shove all the garbage back where it belongs into the suitcase you plan to hide again. Only now, you can’t even close it.

Somehow, there’s more pain.

You fall to the floor in a heap and sob. You don’t know how to handle it anymore. There’s no one who sees all that you try to carry or all that you’re trying to hide. And now, it’s too full to close and too heavy to move.

Again, you hear some sort of sickening laughter.

Your head hurts and things are so blurry. The truth is even blurring. What was that you just thought a moment ago? No one sees you and all you’re trying to carry or hide?

That, my friend, is a lie. And you know who the father of lies is, don’t you? The enemy is the one who finds joy in your pain and laughs when you’re down. (Don’t be surprised if you notice a bunch of rocks hidden among the contents of your suitcase…each one is a lie meant to weigh you down even more.)

If the enemy can keep you slumped over and discouraged over your past, he’s going to do it. If he can stop you from letting go and moving on, well, he’s going to do that too.

The truth is GOD SEES YOU. He knows all about your suitcase and every article down to the most minute stitch of material, every crinkle on the papers and photographs, and every word on every note you’ve tried to ball up and forget. (Yes, He sees those rocks too. He crushes those lies into a fine powder and brushes them aside, right down the gutter.)

You know, God is the One who gave you the suitcase. Not so you’d carry everything around or stop and open it to relive the moments that have hurt you, remembering past conversations that cut you, or those so-called failures of yours.

Actually, those “failures” have drawn you closer to God so can you really call them that?

God will help you hang on to those important things. Those things that shine with truth. Those things that have made you stronger and have helped you become the person God wants you to be.

God didn’t give you the suitcase so you’d stash it somewhere, but so you could pack up all of that stuff and hand it over to Him. He’s the One who can carry it all. He’s the One who wants to. For you.

That’s how much He loves you. And that’s how much He wants to free you so you can move on to live the abundant life He has for you.

Hand it over, my friend. All of it. And let go.

“When he [the devil] lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44c NIV.)

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10 NIV.)

 “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13b-14 NIV.)

You Are Radiant

Many years ago, I dated a man who was verbally abusive. He never hit me physically, but he knew exactly how to lash out at me with his words and how to slice my heart with his silence. I finally left him when I decided I would rather be alone for the rest of my life than be with him. (Side note: This was before I was walking with God, so I was unaware that God was with me.)

Unfortunately, something in me had been damaged by his words and through that relationship. I left, but I was scarred in my heart and in my spirit, and those scars left me feeling ugly. Beyond ugly. Repulsive. And I didn’t know if I could ever let anyone get close to me because they would see that ugliness and run the other way.

So I worked at hiding it, burying it under a “I’m fine” mentality and keeping people at arm’s length. It worked. I smiled a lot. I managed it all very well.

Until I met this wonderful man (now my husband of nearly eighteen years), and I wanted to let him in, past the barricade I’d constructed. Only, I was afraid he would see that ugliness seeping out and would turn and walk away. I teetered back and forth, uncertain what to do, until finally (thankfully!) I let him in.

I am here today, looking over my shoulder at the past, and remembering that trial. That difficult season. That unbearable feeling of not being worthy or good enough. Of being ugly. I was terrified of being caught, of being discovered that I was ugly underneath it all, and that I wasn’t really anything special at all; just an ugly blemish hanging out in the world.

God brought this all back to me today, some twenty years later while I scrambled eggs for lunch. I’m not exactly sure why, but He knows why and He was very clear in saying:

Ugliness is a lie.

You. Me. We are NOT ugly. All that the word “ugly” involves: the feelings of not being good enough, of being way down at the bottom of some ridiculous ranking system, that we’re stupid, a waste of space, unimportant, unlovable, insignificant etc. Those are all lies.

The truth is, we have great value. Remember what Jesus did for us, for YOU. You are unique and lovely and beautiful. And you are simply wonderful because God made you that way. Period.

No, you’re not perfect nor do you have to be. (Whew! What a relief.) But you are perfectly loved by the One Who is love.

If you are going through a similar and painful season right now, let me tell you: God sees you. He was there with you when the words someone spoke to you damaged you. And He sees how you’ve tried to bury them and how they keep surfacing like pond scum; that’s just what those hurtful words are – pond scum.

Get rid of them. Scrape them off and fling them aside. And as you step over that muck and walk away, lift your head high and praise God as His light shines upon you.

You are a beautiful and radiant child of God Almighty. Don’t let anyone tell you anything different.

“I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:14 NASB.)

“Those who look to him [the Lord] are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” (Psalm 34:5 NIV.)

Your Shield

Last week I watched our littlest fur baby suffer before passing away. It was just awful, and I cried out to God asking, “Why don’t you do something?” I realized I was mad at God all over again. (See more here.)

But before I could look back at the past and focus on the other times I’d watched loved ones suffer from cancer or the times we lost other fur babies to sickness and disease, before I could really start questioning God and start pointing my finger at Him (forgive me, Lord), I heard His still, small voice whisper:

“He’s after your faith.”

I’d heard God whisper those very words to me another time in my life when I had too many questions and not enough answers. And when those questions came fast, leaving holes of doubt burning in my heart with no answers to act as salve, I became an easy target.

Satan is after my faith. Perhaps he’s after yours too. He knows if he can get our faith, if he can take our shield of faith, then we’re open to whatever he throws at us. We’ll be exposed and he can pierce our lives with his lies, causing us to pull away from God.

That’s just what Satan wants to do and he will fight as dirty as he needs to so we will turn away from God.  He will attack us when we’re empathizing, when we’re in agony over someone else’s suffering. We feel helpless while we feel their pain. We hurt with them, crying out for mercy, and we wait for it to come. (It’s like holding your breath for too long while you’re under water and your chest starts to burn.)  We’re physically drained and mentally exhausted so we loosen our grip on our faith.  In that very moment Satan strikes with a fierce lie:  God doesn’t care. It’s a poisonous lie from the father of lies that will spread if you don’t see it for the deceptive trash that it is.

My friend, God DOES care. He knows when a sparrow falls. He created everything on this great big planet and knows their intricacies.  Those gossamer wings of a butterfly, the highest peak of a snowcapped mountain, they have His touch.  Your tender heart, the way things move you to tears and hurt you deeply, He created those fragile and delicate areas in you. He knows how to comfort you and love you when you agonize in those places.

I realized something when I fell apart last week: God strengthens our faith and protects us while we’re hurting. When we’re too weak to lift our shield or to carry our faith another step, He doesn’t just walk away, leaving us slumped on the floor alone and in tears.  He comes to us, meets us right there on the floor, and covers us with His arms and reminds us:

“I am your shield.”

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.” (Psalm 28:7a NIV.)

 

 

While You’re Waiting

I used to go fishing with my brother and our Grandpa when I was a little girl with scabby knees and a wad of bubbled gum stuffed in my cheek. Grandpa wore his floppy fishing hat, shorts, and socks reaching just under his knees.  I learned patience by watching him fish.

He would sit for hours, pursing his lips as if to whistle a song but not really making a sound, afraid to scare off the fish. He’d shake his head at us when we got impatient, running through the grass around the pond and casting lines; practically chasing the fish we saw swimming in the shallow water. He just sat on the dock with a smile and waited.

I try to smile when I’m waiting, but it’s especially hard when negative thoughts bombard me from every angle.

You’re a failure.

It’s not going to happen.

You will never make a difference.

Just give up.

You’re pathetic.

You’ll never get ahead.

It’s always going to be this bad.

You can’t even do that right.

While I was praying this morning and playing some worship music with my eyes closed, I imagined my Grandpa sitting on the dock fishing. He was patient, watching the bobber riding on those tiny ripples and waiting for the fish to bite while thousands of mosquitoes swarmed around him.  But he didn’t pay any attention to them because they couldn’t touch him.  It was like he had a bubble of protection around him.

That bubble, I realized this morning, is praise.

Satan is going to come at us like a thousand annoying mosquitoes while we wait. He’s going to incessantly buzz in our ears and hide lies in that noise.  He’s going to distract us and torment us and do his very best to get us to not only call it quits on this particular day but toss our pole in the water and walk away for good.

My dear friends, don’t give up. Waiting is definitely hard work.  God knows, and He understands.

Besides the work of waiting, you may not even get what you’ve been waiting for. There were plenty of times we went fishing and never caught a single fish, but Grandpa still smiled on the walk back home.  He had learned to enjoy the wait and the time he spent with his grandkids.

While you and I are waiting, we can learn to enjoy the wait and the time with God. Maybe He’s giving us this “down time” to get ready to reel in that whopper of a fish.  Or maybe He just wants us to learn to praise Him when things aren’t going the way we think they should.

Regardless, you can thank Him while you’re waiting and staring at the bobber when the fish don’t bite but instead when you catch a glimpse of Heaven mirrored in the water like a thousand diamonds, realizing the reflection is not only coming from the sun but from within you.

You see, God never leaves you to wait alone. The Holy Spirit is waiting with you. And He will teach you a new song to sing while you’re waiting, one that won’t scare off what you’re waiting for but will protect you from those irritating mosquitoes.

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.” (Psalm 40:1,3a NIV.)

Beware of the Maze

Social media is like a maze. Before you go in, you think about what you’re looking for.  You want to see how your far-away family members are doing, who’s having a birthday today, and what time you’re meeting friends for coffee next week.  If you were a mouse, these things would be your cheese.

But what if while scurrying through the maze in search of your cheese you stumble on something else. You notice a few of your friends battling it out in the corner. So you stop and watch as they verbally bash each other.  While standing there, someone comes up behind you and bumps into you.  Then another.  And another.  Before long you’re all standing there gawking at this explosive disagreement in wonder, whispering opinions.  Maybe you even toss in your own word or two.  Before you know it, you’re in the battle and everyone is staring at you.

Or maybe you don’t see such a thing when you journey through the maze. Maybe you come across pictures on the walls; so many happy pictures of your “friends.” But instead of feeling happy for them, you feel a little sad.  Maybe you’re going through a difficult time in your life and you’re really struggling.  You feel pretty helpless and alone and seeing how everyone else’s lives seem to be on track, worry-free, and overflowing with friends and happy faces makes you sink even lower.  You plop down in the corner and cry, feeling worse than before.

Or maybe, just maybe you went into the maze with the intent to get back at someone who’s hurt you. You go in with the most powerful weapon you can bring into the maze, your words, and you’re ready to open fire.  So at the most opportune moment you plan to let ‘em have it.  Oh there are lots of ways to do it, you reason.  You’ve witnessed many battles like this before when you stood back and watched.  And if others do it, why can’t you?

So you enter the maze and see the one you’re after, the one you want to intentionally hurt.  Maybe you’ll throw some heavy words at him, bricks that will tarnish the wall behind him so everyone can see.  Or maybe you’ll be a little sneaky, really go in for the punch by purposely leaving him out of something.  How can you be sure he’ll find out?  By hanging a picture of course.  That should get everyone talking.  And that’s a more subtle way to hurt him so you’ll look totally innocent in the matter.

Yes. It probably will hurt him.  You’ll be able to snicker to yourself and keep moving on.

But while you’re carrying on, the same thing happens to you. Someone hits you with a heavy brick for all to see and someone else hangs up a picture and you feel deeply wounded that you weren’t included in it.  Now you’re hurt and anger begins to burn you from the inside out.

But even worse than that: When you entered the maze and became so distracted, you missed what you should have been doing with your valuable, limited time.  Perhaps there is someone who needs a physical hug today (not just a wink).  Maybe someone needs to hear your voice on the phone or desperately craves a handwritten card of encouragement from you.  But you never made that call and you never sent the card.  You were stuck in the maze.

And while you were lost wandering around and around looking at walls and trying to find your way out, you also failed to see how dark the maze became. It wasn’t the drama that blocked the light but the one who wants to stand between you and God.

Satan is lurking in the maze and has been whispering lies to distract you ever since you got here. He loves tricking you into staying just long enough that you lose your way and just long enough to do some damage.

That way you’re so busy doing his job that you fail to do the job God created you to do.

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV.)

Below the Surface

There’s a great big world out there with a lot of people quietly suffering. On the surface we see the happy smiles and we hear the “I’m fine,” response when we ask how they’re doing.  But below the surface there is great pain.

Maybe this is you.  Maybe you get up in the morning and go about your day, while beyond those shallow areas of your life, those areas you let others get a glimpse of, you’re agonizing.  Maybe you feel like you’re drowning and no one cares.  Maybe you’re overwhelmed with illness or debt or violence or drugs.  Maybe you feel trapped in a relationship that brings you pain or maybe you feel locked into a situation you can’t break free from.

Let me tell you my friend, God sees you.  He not only sees the surface stuff you show the world, but He sees your heart.  He knows what’s keeping you up at night.  He knows what makes you cry when you’re in the shower.  He knows what steals your breath and your joy and what’s suffocating you right there in the middle of your life.  And He cares about you so deeply, reaching far below the surface.

God is the One who never leaves you or forgets about you.  He promises.  And He never lies and He never breaks a promise. Thank you, Lord.

You may hear all sorts of things as you go throughout your day.  You may hear that you’re a failure and you’ll never amount to much; this may be all in your own thoughts or literally from others.  Perhaps you’ll hear that it’s too late for you; you had your chance and you blew it and you’re beyond hope.  You may hear you’re all alone and you’re going to stay that way because you’re pathetic and really unlovable.  Or maybe you’ll hear that people in your life would be better off if you weren’t around.

Those are lies.  Every one of them.  Don’t try to make them “half” truths either.  Like, “Well I have failed so many times so maybe I won’t amount to much.”  Did you ever think that those “failures” are part of a greater design for you becoming YOU.  If you hadn’t “failed,” you’d keep going in that direction and perhaps that is not what God wants for you.  So He allows you to stumble a bit so when you regain your footing, you have time to see another path, another door opening that you never would have seen if you ran off in the wrong direction.  Is that failure?  Not hardly.

I don’t know exactly why God led me to write this or who this is for.  But God knows.  And He knows you my friend.  Trust that He sees your suffering all the way down to the very core.  With God in your life, you never suffer alone and suffering is only temporary when you consider an eternity of peace with Him.  You have an amazing hope to live for now and to look forward to.  Don’t let Satan or anyone else steal God’s promises from your heart.

And if you’re reading this and you’re not one who is suffering below the surface, please take a moment to pray for eyes that see and ears that hear that you may be aware of those around you who are suffering.  Maybe God will use you to wrap your arms around them and whisper, “God’s got you my friend.”

Yes.  God’s got you my friend.  Wherever you are in this great big world, I’m praying for you right now.  You are not alone.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”  (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV.)

Lose the Earbuds and Hear the Music

Do you have a constant swarm of negative thoughts hitting you? Are you “hearing” over and over again what a failure you are?  Maybe the thoughts are more like:

You’re totally lost.

You’ve really blown it this time.

You can’t do anything right.

Do you really think you can do this?

Just who do you think you are?

You’re not good enough.

You’re not smart enough.

You are a failure and nothing is going to change that.

No one really cares about you.

You’re alone. Get used to it.

That ugly list could go on and on but I’m stopping there because I don’t want those lies to repeat any longer. That’s all they are.  Lies.

Satan is trying to poison your thoughts by lying to you. It’s as if while you weren’t looking he slipped a pair of earbuds into your ears so you can hear nothing BUT lies.

Why?

He wants to render you useless. He wants to hit you in such a sneaky way that you’ll feel deeply discouraged but not understand why.  You’ll lose your joy.  You’ll want to give up.  You’ll want to quit what God has called you to do.  That’s right.  The enemy of your soul is trying to lead you away from the path you’re on with God, so you’ll wander off thinking awful things about yourself and that God is far away and isn’t coming to look for you.

Again, more lies.

The truth is God cares for you more than you know. He is the only One who has been with you since day one and will be there when you take your final breath.  He loves you unconditionally.  You don’t have to be perfect or do or say all the right things all the time.  He knows you better than you know you.  He knows your heart.  He loves you inside and out.

God loves how you look in the morning when you crawl out of bed with a sleepy smile and hair all messy. He loves you before you put on your brave face, before you brush your teeth, and yes, even before your first cup of coffee.  (And for me that’s saying a lot!)

So lose the earbuds, my friends. How else will you hear your Heavenly Father singing over you?  That’s the music you don’t want to miss.

“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”  (Zephaniah 3:17 NIV.)