When You Need Some Freedom from the Lie

Freedom Letterpress

Several years ago I was in a really hard conversation with a friend. We didn’t see life the same way, and we were trying to work it out. I was in the middle of trying to explain my side of the story when she spoke this to me: “You’re a horrible communicator.”

In that moment, I knew what she meant. We’d been friends for a long time so she knew that sometimes I wasn’t great at quickly articulate what I was thinking. Because I’ve always been an internal processor, verbalizing my thoughts sometimes took me a second, and in the moment, my words would come out clumsy.

However, instead of defending myself or seeing past the statement, I did this:
I agreed with her.

I backed up everything she said with a “yes, you’re right, I know it, my husband knows it, everyone knows it.” I agreed with her.

Fast forward a few years, into those early days when God was calling me into women’s ministry. I could feel Him asking me to speak. Publicly. (what?) I’m a horrible communicator, would circle around my heart.

One day I was preparing my first outside-my-church-peeps message, getting ready to go to Florida. It was a message that God had beautifully written, but I absolutely wanted to throw up every time I thought about giving it. I was on the phone with another presenter for the event, she was speaking before me, so we talked about our different messages and how they tied together. But when I hung up the phone, I sobbed.

She’s an amazing communicator, I am such a fraud. I have no idea what I’m doing and God made a crank call when He asked me to do this whole thing. I’m a horrible communicator.

God is so tender with our hearts, He knows exactly what it takes to meet us right where we’re at. In that moment, it wasn’t His comfort, or His reassurance I felt (although I know it was there). Instead He spoke exactly what I needed to hear to clear the fog: He reminded me of the agreement I had made years ago.

I had agreed and internalized those hurtful words, and the enemy was using it against me to entangle my heart. I needed to break that agreement.

An “agreement” is that moment when we say YES to a lie. That moment when something wrong, hurtful or evil is spoken, and somewhere deep in our heart we align with that lie and say “I agree”. Agreements give permission to the enemy to keep us held captive.

We do that.

We listen to others put us down, and we agree.

We tell ourselves we’re no good, and we agree.

We hear the lies of society that we’re not enough, and we agree.

Carey Scott tells so many stories in her book, Untangled, about women who have believed the lies they’ve heard for so long, spoken by fathers, mothers, friends and ourselves. Words that have fallen into deep places…lies, that have become…truth.

We have to break the agreements we have made with the enemy.

I know, some of you are saying, “that’s really intense, I don’t know if I need to be all that, I just need to give myself some grace.” That might be true, you might need to just give yourself a break and stop trying to live up to some unattainable standard for your life. If that’s true, then *please* give yourself a huge bucketful of grace today.

Some of you, though, have agreed with the lies of the enemy for too long. Friend, hear me today – you don’t have to live under bondage anymore. It was for FREEDOM that Christ has set you free, so stand strong and don’t allow yourself to get tangled up into slavery again (Galatians 5:1, my paraphrase). We don’t have to stay in prison, chained up to that lie, anymore.

Sometimes, though, we don’t know how to get out. But even more than that, (SPOILER: this next part isn’t all sweetness and light), some of us choose to stay locked up.

This week Carey and I talked about all this with our friend, Lisa Williams, on her show “Life with Lisa Williams”. We said that sometimes our lie can seem better than the truth, because it’s known. We hold onto our sin and our sadness because we get it. This is who we are, this is what we know, so we adjust our reality to it. Our view of life, and our worthless view of ourselves, somehow becomes “acceptable”. Our tangle becomes our identity. As Carey put it, “If I’m not a mess, than who am I?”

Yesterday one of my dearest friends said this: “The funny (sad) thing about that prison we get locked up in is that WE put ourselves in it and almost fight tooth and nail to stay there. And the prison door isn’t even locked but open! But we dare not cross the threshold to freedom because that feels so scary because it’s an unknown…to us. But not to God.”

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32

Opposite of truth? Lie. 

Opposite of freedom? Captivity.

Agreeing with lies keeps us in captivity. Standing up and saying NO to those agreements ushers in FREEDOM.

What are the agreements you’ve made with the enemy? Take a moment to ask yourself this question. What have you found yourself saying, what are the words that have taken root deep within your heart?

  • I’ll always be this way.
  • I’m such a _______.
  • I’m a hateful person.
  • I can’t stand my kids.
  • It’s too late.
  • I’m a horrible money manager.
  • I look ugly.
  • I want to have an affair.
  • Anywhere else would be better than here.
  • I’ll never be enough.

We must stand up to the lies we’ve been telling ourselves and say NO MORE. 

FIGHT FOR YOUR FREEDOM. Ask God to show you how you’ve aligned with the lies that have held you for so long. Too long. Decide that you are done giving permission to the enemy to mess with your life. That you are exactly who God declares that you are. That you are loved and precious in His eyes, that you are forgiven, and by His blood you have been set free. 

Today, take time to read these verses on freedom. Find one or two that speak directly to your heart. Write them down. Let the Truth of God’s Word wash over your tangled heart. 

Jesus wants your freedom, sweet friend. He gave His very life for it. Believe Him on this one. Will you pray with me?

Lord Jesus, forgive me. I confess I have been offering myself over to a lie, and now I have become its slave. I break the agreement that I made with that lie (take time to be specific and confess every part of the lie). I open up and dedicate my life in this area to the truth and authority of Jesus Christ. I receive Your love and Your healing in my life. I ask that Your power and Your holiness would fill my life and my every thought. Going forward, give me wisdom and discernment to stand against the lies of the enemy. I praise You that You are all-sufficient in my life, and that Your truth sets me free. In Jesus name, Amen.

 

6 Comments

  1. Shawna on July 23, 2015 at 11:41 am

    Thanks Julie needed to hear that today. Love that even though I am so far away I can still enjoy your wisdom.

    • Julie Thomas on July 23, 2015 at 2:10 pm

      miss you Shawna!!!!

  2. Shanyn on July 28, 2015 at 10:26 am

    Oh I needed this. So much.

    • Julie Thomas on July 28, 2015 at 10:45 am

      So glad you are here Shanyn, you are not alone. I need it too!

  3. Susanmarie on August 2, 2015 at 4:18 pm

    This article was JESUS sent to me!! I feel alone and old and so worthless. My husband is having an emotional affair with his young smart savy and very cunning office manager. They constantly text each other and I’m right there altho he barely speaks to me. Today was horrendous with a huge fight over her. And you know what-she came out smelling like a rose and I’m somehow to blame. He thinks she’s always right and I’m wrong. In my mind I’m not as smart, not as young and not as pretty. This affair has rattled my low self-esteem to being barely existent. the voices chatter constantly. But I’m definitely trying to say NO! To the lies. Pls pray for me!!

    • Julie Thomas on August 2, 2015 at 7:28 pm

      Susanmarie, prayers for strength, for wisdom, and for your marriage. You are in the right place as you seek Him, you are loved beyond comparison.

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