“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!” Do you remember hearing those words as a child? Or maybe you said those words as a child, to ward off the cruel taunts of bullies. Of course, words cannot physically harm someone the way a club could. But as we grow older, we realize that words can be very powerful. And painful! They may not break your bones, but they sure can club your heart, break your confidence, and break your ability to believe what is true.
Our identity, confidence, and decisions are each shaped by the experiences we’ve had in life. Negative words spoken to us, the experiences we’ve faced, unspoken words, or withheld affection, slowly accumulate in layers over our hearts and begin to shape our belief system. Our beliefs impact our decisions, which in turn provoke specific experiences, which further confirm our belief system. We get caught in a cycle of negative expectations and fulfillment. ‘People aren’t safe; people will reject me’ leads me to create layers of self-protection and invulnerability; which repulses people from ever getting close to me; which I perceive as the proof of their rejection.
Ladies and Gentlemen, when you were created, you were created in the image of God. You and I carry the likenesses of God’s character and personality. You were created for a purpose and with great care and love. “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” (Psalms 139: 13-14).
That is our starting point, who we are at the core. But as we grow and experience life, that starting point, that Godly core, begins to get buried under layers of lies spoken to us. Our value gets lost under an avalanche of lies we have heard so many times, we now accept them as the truth. It is like each time we accept a lie we put on a tee shirt with neon letters written across our chest—Ugly! The next shirt says Failure! Worthless! Average! No Value! Unloved! Boring! Stupid!—each layered on top of the last. But these aren’t who you are. They are just people’s opinions. God created you fearfully and wonderfully. You are his wonderful work.
God took great care and thought into putting all the pieces together that make up YOU. The physical, emotional, and intellectual pieces, your personality—each of these are specifically crafted for a purpose decided by God. This amount of care and thought show how much you are loved and cherished. The ungodly lies and beliefs cover up our full potential from shining to the world. The devil does not want us to be at our full strength. “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).
Jesus came to lead you to the truth about our heavenly Father—and the truth about you. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life that God intended for each of us. God is ready to do a miracle in you by removing each layer of lies from your life so you can experience his life to the full. You know, you have a role to play in that miracle; you must take a step or two towards Jesus and he will do the rest.
Begin to search and seek for the truth of who you were created to be. The Apostle Paul teaches us to take our thoughts captive, the ones that are derelict and contrary to God’s truth about you. Do not allow those lies to coexist or to hijack your mental narrative. Allow the Holy Spirit to whisper truth into your heart and mind. Remember our tee shirt analogy? As your mind is filled with truth and love, those layers of “tee shirts” scrawled with lies, will begin to fall away. What you believe about yourself will begin to change. There is tremendous freedom in knowing the truth. It will change your marriage, your relationships, and your view of God.
I want to leave you with these word from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned and received or heard from me put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (4:8-9).
Tags: truth, love, identity, life, strength, healing, condemnation, lies, accusation, potential
