You Only Fear What You Think May Be True

Listen to a short audio clip here: FearThatThingsMayBeTrue (mp3)

Do you know that you can only be hurt by things others say if you think the statements are true? If people say things to you that are obvious lies, you will shake them off.  But when you fear that what they say may be true, THAT’S when you get upset.  And that’s when depression sets in, because you latch on to and become obsessed with the thing you fear may be true.  You even allow it to DEFINE you.

That’s why it is so important to figure out what lies you currently believe about yourself.  What condemning statements have you swallowed whole, without picking it apart to see if it has any merit.  The worst type of statement is a partial truth, where maybe some of it has merit, but the rest should just be chucked.  Satan is a master at those types of statements.

Take, for instance, when you genuinely mess up, possibly say or do something you shouldn’t have done.  The Holy Spirit speaks to your conscience and gently reminds you that what you have done is wrong. (I’ll add here that the Holy Spirit probably gently warned you beforehand, too, but you plowed right through that.)  However, Satan then takes that single truth of your misdeed and COMPOUNDS it with accusatory statements and outright lies.

“You’re a horrible person!”  “You shouldn’t even call yourself a Christian.”  “You should be ashamed of yourself and not even show yourself in public.” “Your life is ruined.” “No one will ever love you because of what you have done.”

You can see that there is the acknowledgement that something wrong was done, but when I put it this way, you can also see where the truth leaves off and the emotional battering begins.  You have to separate the truth from the lies, especially when you are afraid that you really are a horrible person, and that your life is ruined and no one will ever love you again.

What truth mixed with a lie is haunting you?  What condemnation are you living under because you’ve swallowed satanic condemnation along with acknowledgement of the wrong you have committed?

God loves YOU.  God hates YOUR SIN.  All He wants is for you to confess and repent – agree with Him aloud that what you did was wrong and that His way is right, and turn your mind and your actions toward Him and doing things His way.  If you have done that, there is now no more condemnation.  Even if your heart condemns you, God (and what He has said about you) is greater than your heart. (1 John 3:19-20 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.)

Penny Haynes

http://ChristianWomenWithDepression.com