Lies Women Believe Week 1
We all believe lies. Some believe more lies. Some learn to believe new lies. The goal of this series isn’t to find out WHO is believing lies; it’s to find out WHICH LIES I am being deceived by and learn the truth that sets me free.
There is a HUGE lie that I want to call out right off that is pervasive in church culture. That is, once I am saved, I’m no longer going to sin or struggle. Then, when we fail or go through dry seasons, the enemy has a heyday with how we aren’t really true Christians or must be irredeemable or broken.
Surely, others in the church don’t STILL struggle.
Let’s speak the truth that God’s grace is sufficient, and his mercies are new every morning. I speak against any lies that say, “I’m the only one struggling with this,” or a spirit that looks down on a sister or friend struggling. There’s no place for that in the body of Christ. We “overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.” When we say, “Oh, I’ve been there and can tell you there’s hope!” we bring LIFE of Truth to the LIES.
There’s an epidemic of soul-sickness – in the world, yes. But also in the church. I think we can agree that many of us could at times (maybe now) describe ourselves as: frazzled, exhausted, overwhelmed, defeated, discouraged, ashamed, confused, angry, frustrated, uptight, fearful, lonely and yes, even suicidal.
Another term for “lies” and soul-sickness is spiritual bondage. Many women – myself included – find ourselves not free in certain areas of our lives. God is still perfecting me until I reach the other side, where I will be perfect and complete in Him.
Many are enslaved to their past. Some live under a cloud of personal guilt or condemnation
Others are in bondage to what the Bible would call the fear of man – fear of rejection, fear of what people think of them (church people and non-church people), or long for approval.
Some are in emotional prisons enslaved by worry, fear, anger, depression and self-pity.
Some of the greatest and unmentioned areas are in relationship to food – some can’t stop eating, some can’t make themselves eat, some view food as an enemy in and of itself.
Let’s be clear, we aren’t all a mess but we are dealing with some deep issues (or will deal with them) that require deeper than surface level solutions and self-talk.
What if instead of the previous descriptions, you were: free, gracious, loving, confident, content, stable, joyous, peaceful, and radiant?
These words describe the kind of woman we all want to be and what keeps us from this kind of life are lies. Some of the lies we will consider are so widely believed that you may find it difficult to recognize them as lies. But the “best” lies – the most effective ones – are those that look the most like the Truth. Some of the lies we discuss are particularly deceptive because they are half-truths, making them more subtle and dangerous.
I can’t promise that you will like everything I have to share or everything the Word of God has to say, but I promise to deliver the truth of God’s Word and not my opinion.
Lies have been present since the Garden of Eden when Satan deceived Eve with his cunning lies.
"You will not certainly die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
Genesis 3:4-5 (NIV)
Satan’s goal was to drive a wedge between God and His people. He knew he couldn’t do something that would appear as an all-out assault on God, so he would have to subtly trick them, deceive them, and offer something reasonable that didn’t seem anti-God.
He didn’t approach both Adam and Eve – he preyed on Eve’s vulnerabilities. Satan deceived Eve causing her to question the goodness, love, and motives of God. His inference was, “Has God put restrictions on your freedom? It sounds like he deson’t want you to be happy.” The truth is that God had said, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden except one.” (Gen 2:16)
The truth is that God is a generous God.
The Serpent further deceived Eve by lying about the consequences that would happen. He seduced Eve by offering her all kinds of benefits (knowledge, experience, equality with God, that is, that she could be her own god. Finally, he promised that she would be able to decide for herself what was right and wrong.
Satan deceived Eve by causing her to make her decision based on what she could see and on what her emotions and her reason told her to be right, even when it was contrary to what God had already told the couple.
“When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.”
- Genesis 3:6
Eve took the bite but instead of the promised rewards – she had a mouth full of worms – shame, guilt, fear, and alienation. She had been lied to. The enemy doesn’t come as a snake – it can come as a book, movie, friend, family member or even a well-meaning Christian writer or counselor. Regardless of the source, if anything is not consistent with the Word of God, our antennae should go up.
The forbidden fruit was: good for food, a delight to the eyes, to be desired to make one wise. What makes Satan’s offers so alluring and so deceptive is that they look so right.
One of my very favorite things about this series and book is the simple formula for how we find ourselves in spiritual bondage, and more importantly, how we can find our way out!
The progression from deception to spiritual bondage:
Listen to a lie – Eve’s first mistake wasn’t eating the fruit, it was listening to a lie.
Dwell on the lie – We consider what he said, we mull it over, We engage in conversation
Believe the lie – Eve believed what the serpent said was true even though it contradicted scripture
Act on the lie – the important thing to remember is that every act of sin in our lives begins with a a lie.
When you break it down like that, it’s easy to see how we walk into the enemy’s trap and find ourself in bondage. But here’s my favorite part: moving from captivity to freedom!
Moving from captivity to freedom
Identify the areas of spiritual bondage or sinful behavior.
Identify the lie at the room of that bondage or sin pattern. (when you taste the fruit, check the root)
Replace the lie with the Truth.
So let’s jump into Lies We Believe About God
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
AW Tozer
"God is not really good.”
Once we doubt the goodness of God, it’s easy to feel justified making our own decisions about what is right and wrong? But the truth is God is good. Whether or not His choices seem good to us, He is good. Whether or not we see it or feel it, He is good.
“ Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!”
Psalm 31:19“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28-39
2. “God doesn’t love me.”
We believe this lie when we trust that our feelings tell us the truth, rather than God’s Word. The Truth is that God loves you and loves me not because we are so lovable but because God is love, it’s who He is. His love for us is not based on anything we did to earn or deserve it or anything we did to disqualify us from it.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8 (NIV)
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
3. "God is not really enough":
We don’t believe that God is really enough for me. Sure, for everyone else’s problems, needs, etc. but something about mine is too far outside of His reach or care. The truth is that God is enough to meet all our needs and desires, and He is the source of true fulfillment.
“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." - 2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV)
4. “God’s ways are too restrictive”
Eve was convinced that the one restriction was too much. She needed to do what felt right. But the Truth is that God’s ways are best.
“And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.” - Deut 6:24-25
“He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding. The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.” - Proverbs 15:32-33