“Jesus said to the people who believed in Him, ‘You are truly My disciples if you remain faithful to My teaching. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” (John 8:31-32 NLT)
What lies are you believing that may be crippling your effectiveness and fruitfulness for the Savior? Some of the most common are: “I’m not good enough! I don’t know enough! I’m not smart enough! Talented enough! I don’t know the Bible well enough! People won’t like me, or they’ll reject me! I haven’t walked with the Lord long enough (not mature enough spiritually)!”
These are just a few, but what do all of them have in common? “I” and “I” is the central letter of LIE! When I’m the center character in the drama of my role in Christ’s plan, I will bail nearly every time. Why? Because I’m trusting more in me than in Him.
When I was in college, I had an interest in a girl that, to me, was a pipedream. While I could fantasize about us being a couple, I couldn’t bring myself to believe it could ever be a reality. There was a party that my roommate was going to, and he asked me if I’d like to go. He said, “She’ll be there!” I didn’t go. I believed the lie about myself, now I’ll never know.
What if? Isn’t that among the saddest questions we ask? But when it comes to our spiritual conversations, it can be eternally sad, not just for us, but for the many with whom we could have had a conversation.
So, here’s the truth: you have everything you need to do and be everything the Lord asks of you if you do it in faith with confidence in the Holy Spirit’s power to use you, not in your own strength. The lie we believe is that it can’t be done, and the truth is WE can’t make it happen! But we believe the lie because we want to think it depends on us, when it absolutely DOES NOT!
Hart Ramsey challenges us when he writes: “Truth doesn’t offend YOU. It offends the lie that’s hiding out in you. Don’t reject Truth. Interrogate the lie. Make it prove its claims.” When you interrogate the claims of the lie that says you can’t obey God you must conclude the fact is YOU CAN! How do I know that? Because God’s Word is true and Philippians 4:13 says: “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
This is a very personal observation. It doesn’t mean I can do double back flips if I trust in Jesus. I’m 77, He wouldn’t ask me to do that. What it means is anything and everything He asks of us He will enable us to do it. He sees it as a part of our ability to carry it out. We may not choose to believe it, but that doesn’t make it untrue.
For example, the Lord may prompt you to invite a neighbor or friend you don’t know well to have lunch with you. You can come up with a thousand excuses for not asking them, but the truth is, if God is in it, it will work out. They may say “no,” initially, but leave the door open for another invitation. So, ask again, and again until they say “yes,” or the Lord says “enough.”
Obedience to the Lord is a heart that is tuned to say “yes,” whatever the question. At our church the Pastors like to use the example of a piece of paper with our signature at the bottom. We simply write “YES” and sign it. We’re putting our “YES” on the table!
Next time the Lord asks you to do something, don’t believe the lie that you can’t, just say “YES!”
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 