Hello everyone! I want to wish all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving with your friends and family! I am excited that the holiday season is here, more excited than I have honestly been in a long time. I am so thankful for deep emotional and mental healing! I will be taking a break from blogging next week. Blogs will return the week of December 9th, 2019. Now to today’s topic. Genesis 3:11a NASB; And God said, “Who told you that you were naked?... We have so many voices in our world today - from social media to 24-hours news outlets to movies and radio. I am not saying any of this is inherently bad. All these things have their usefulness in life and for information. However, many times these things also contribute to a lot of noise in our lives. When it comes to your identity, who do listen to? Who is shaping your view of your yourself? Are you hearing truth? Are you hearing lies?
I can speak as someone who listened to the wrong voices for many years. Although I loved Jesus, my identity was tied up in other’s opinions and in lies I’d believed as a young woman. I’ve written about many of these things in a more recent blogs. Today I want to bring it full circle. The Lord has freed my heart from all of these lies and from the voices that told me who I was outside of who He made me to be. I want to tell you my story briefly (for those that are new to my blog) and, in that story, you will see why it is so important that we always ask the question, “who told you that?”
As a young woman, I was focused on school and going to college. This put me in the smart category as far as my male peers were concerned (I don’t blame them; they really didn’t know any better). What that translates to is they did not pay much attention to me. I internalized this more than I knew, and Satan took his advantage. As early as age 15, I can remember having thoughts of not being good enough and not being acceptable. I did not exactly know where these thoughts came from at the time but instead of dealing with them, I just ignored them – a very bad idea. I would use these lies I believed to justify being a people-pleaser so I could get people, particularly men, to accept me and find me good enough, attractive enough, you name it. This shaped who I dated (not ideal men), how I dated, and ultimately who *I married (a man who was two people and very unhealthy). I’m going to be honest with you. These lies landed me in an abusive marriage. The abusive marriage reinforced the lies of not being good enough and not being acceptable or beautiful or anything else for that matter. After my marriage ended with my husband’s suicide., I was both relieved and sad – relieved that the abuse was over and sad that he had not wanted help. I had to move on. I had not counted on being thirty-eight and a widow, so this was not exactly easy. It was during my time of grieving that another lie was put into my mind. This lie told me that “everything I love dies.” It was followed up with “you can’t/shouldn’t love (to protect myself)” and “you can’t be loved.” And once again, I did not deal with these, I just chose not to think about them. I sat on these lies for 25 years - from my youth to 5 years post marriage. That allows a lot of time for hurt and pain to not only shape you negatively but destroy you as well. And destroy me they did. I’ve gained and lost weight so many times I’ve lost count. I have spent myself into oblivion three times. I’ve dated men I had no business dating. I exposed myself to friendships I had not business having. All of this, to try and fill the hole and dull the pain those lies were causing in my heart and mind. Then came December 2018 to this present time. Jesus was not going to leave me where I was, in my pain and emotional wreckage. In December of 2018, He began to open my eyes and shine his Light into the deepest places of my heart to set me free. It wasn’t easy, but it was so worth it! In doing so, he has revealed many things to me, including who I really am; not what the voices of abuse and condemnation told me. He has shown me that I am accepted by Him as his precious, delightful daughter who He died for! I am good enough in Him and I am already pleasing to Him! He has loved me since he formed me so guess what? I am loved and I am lovable. He is love, so I can love! As He is, so am I in the earth! (1 John 4:17). And yes, on this side of Heaven everything and everyone I love will eventually die but you know what? Everyone and everything I love will be with me in Heaven, so I win! Death does not have the final say, Jesus has the final say and His love has already won for us! I am thankful and I am free!
You can be free of lies too, no matter who told them to you! All you must do is ask the question, “who told me that?” It begins there. Freedom begins when we question our negative thoughts and tapes playing in our heads. Freedom begins when we choose to believe what Jesus believes about us. Once you know and believe what Jesus believes about you, there is no lie that can have any power over you anymore! When His light shines into your heart, no darkness can hide! When He sets you free, you are free indeed! (John 8:36)
I want to leave you with this today. All lies have roots and offshoots. These roots and offshoots grow until we have a tangled, mangled, dark mess in our hearts that only the Light and love of Jesus can uproot and heal. I could not do it myself! You can’t do it by yourself! The Light and love of Jesus is the answer you have been looking for! Do not be afraid to let Him into your heart! He longs to love you and set you free! What He did for me, He will do for you because he is no respecter of persons. Call to him and He will answer! No darkness is too great for His Light and there is no darkness or lie He can’t uproot! On this Thanksgiving weekend, no matter where or who you are, call to Him and be free! You will never be the same! He calls to you to you this day! Will you not answer?
Jeremiah 33:3a NIV; Call to me and I will answer… With much love,
Elizabeth