6 Truths to Replace 6 Lies

9/13/2016

Several weeks ago, I pre-ordered and anxiously awaited for a book to arrive in my mailbox. I love mail and I love books, so this is nothing new. But, the book I was waiting on was one that I knew I needed to read. The day I got it in the mail, I skimmed through all the pages and gazed at the pretty front cover. Suddenly, I knew this was going to be a hard book and reading it was going to come slowly. When I pre-orderd Uninvited, the first five chapters were sent to my e-mail and I immediately read chapters one through four. Then, I stopped. See, I have a hard time with follow through and finishing things. Especially when things tend to get hard. Y'all, this book is hard, and so, chapter five of Uninvited is still not read.

Lysa TerKeurst not only writes timely books, but she is also the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries. Proverbs 31 does online bible studies, because "life can be crazy, but your Bible study doesn't have to be." I saw that their current study was going to be on Uninvited and I knew it was the push I needed to actually read this book. This is my first time doing an online bible study with Proverbs 31, but joining in and listening to what others are learning through this book has been so refreshing. We have only begun week 2, but already have I been challenged to dig deeper into the Word and be honest with myself and God about my feelings of loneliness and feeling left out. The challenge of 2 Corinthians 10:5 to "destroy arguments...take every thought captive to obey Christ" led me to think about lies and untruths that the enemy throws at me and replace them with truths and promises that God speaks over me. I've always thought that I'm better at giving advice than receiving it, but how can I properly encourage others to feel valued and believe they are seen and heard by God, if I first do not believe those things? So, here are some truths that I am telling myself when the enemy throws lies at me. Let us take captive every thought and imagination that is not from God and replace it with His words of truth.

6 Truths To Remember

When you feel unworthy, know that you are valuable to Christ.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Matthew 10:29-31

When you feel alone, know that you are united with Christ.

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one,Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." John 17:20-23

When you feel invisible, know that you are seen by God.

"Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.
For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be."
Psalm 139:7-16

When you feel ignored, know that you are heard by God.

"Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.

From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe.

I long to dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
For you, God, have heard my vows;
you have give me the heritage of those who fear your name."
Psalm 61:1-5

When you feel uninvited, know that you are wanted by God.

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
1 Peter 2:9

When you feel defeated, know that you are victorious in Christ.

"When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
1 Corinthians 15:54-58

Remember how I said that I never read chapter five of Uninvited? Well, guess what one of the two chapters we are reading this week in bible study is? Here's to getting better at follow through...and believing the advice I actually give to others.

If you have seen Uninvited floating around and it is on your "to-read" list, I recommend getting it now. It's most definitely a book for those who feel less than, left out, and lonely. But, the moment you crack open the spine of this book, you will know that you are most definitely not alone in that walk. This isn't something to wait on for later, it's for right now.

"May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word."
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I was not asked to write this post, nor do I get anything for writing it. I just believe in this book. Plus, when you buy a book, you are helping to change the lives of women in India. So, go. Buy one, two, or more and start healing all the old rejections and start getting rid of lies and replacing them with truths.

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