I’m reading this book called,
“Culture of Honor” and it’s so good! It has been teaching me about how when you
struggle with sin there is usually a deeper issue that this sin stems
from. Sin can be so subtle… Did
you know that believing a lie is sin? Well, not always, but it is if you know
the truth but are still choosing to believe the lie~ then its sin. If you believe one small lie.. it can
change the whole way you live.
It’s the little foxes that ruin the vineyard..
Have you ever struggled with
something, and time and time again you will overcome it and fight it with
truth, but then before you know it, its back to haunt you? You repent of it,
but then you do it again, or you still struggle with believing that same lie,
even though you’ve memorized the scriptures to fight it.. Well, did you ever
think that maybe you are not repenting of the right thing? Maybe there is
something deeper, something underlying that this one sin keeps stemming from.
It’s like my root analogy~ you can pull out the weed, but unless you pull it
out by the roots it will grow right back. It was a cool thing to learn!
Later that week I was talking to
one of my friends and she told me that she kept struggling with lies that she
wasn’t beautiful and of her self worth. She told me that she had been fighting
it with scripture but it would find its way back into her mind constantly. It was like a bungee cord~
She would
feel like she broke free of it, and then all of a sudden she’d snap back into
the same battle she had just finished fighting.
I realized that this was something
God had just taught me how to approach. So I asked her, “What’s the problem?”
She looked confused and responded, “I just told you the problem..” and then I
asked her again, ” well what do you think the REAL problem is? Because you know
that the lie isn’t true, so why does it keep coming back? What’s the root that
this keeps stemming from?” she paused, and then said, “I’m not sure, I’ve never
thought of it that way.” So I asked her a few questions to try and help her
figure it out. “Do you think you don’t feel beautiful because you are single?
Do you fear that you will never get married? (Let’s face it ladies.. most
single women fear that at one point in their lives… you know it’s true!) Do you
think it stems from your relationship with your parents? Do you have bitterness
or anger or unforgivness towards someone?” I told her to think about it and
pray and ask God to search her heart on this issue and reveal it to her. She
thanked me and went on her way.
Later that day I walked up to her
and another friend as they were talking and she was telling her how sometimes
it bugged her that her testimony was not some radical crazy rescue story, but
it was just kind of plain. “Another lie,” I thought to myself.. And then she
continued on about her college days and how she worked so hard and always got
good grades because she wanted to make sure that she’d have a good future. And
as she finished her story I felt as though God told me what it was! I said, ” I
think I know what your root issue is! You subconsciously fear that God is
holding out on you..” It made sense~ She worked really hard in school because she wanted to make sure that she’d have a good future in fear that God might not
provide.. She wasn’t in a relationship yet, so she feared that God wouldn’t ever
give her one, and even her testimony~ subconsciously she feared that hers
wasn’t good enough because hers wasn’t exciting..(Which is ABSOLUTELY a lie,
because EVERY rescue story is exciting!)
It was a trust issue.. She said, “wow, that makes sense.. And I wonder if it
is a generational sin, because there was unfaithfulness in my extended family,
and that had always seemed to affect my mom. The way she would receive
complements, and in her confidence and it’s also something I see my sister
struggle with too..” (Your sin effects generations after you..) She was excited and liberated to get to
the root of it! We then prayed and she repented of not trusting God, and chains
were broken off! And guess what… She’s finally walking in freedom! No more
believing those lies about her beauty or self worth.=D God is good!
I wanted to share this with you,
because almost every time there is sin it stems from a root, and just repenting
of the action of sin doesn’t always get the root… Sometimes you have to dig
down deep to the heart of the issue! And it is also so important to realize how
much one lie/issue, if not dealt with, can creep into all different areas of
your life, and create so much havoc. I also wanted to share this, because I know
that beauty and self-worth is something than many girls struggle with. And to
those of you who are struggling with it right now, know that YOU are fearfully
and wonderfully made. God knit you together, He is your Creator and He made no
mistake. You’re Beautiful!
So if you
are living in chains to this lie, search deeper.. Find the real issue, and
repent so that you can be set free!
It is for freedom Christ has set
you free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourself be burdened again by a yoke
of slavery. Galatians 5:1
