So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
(John 8:31-32)

Two and a half years ago, my counselor gave me homework. She told me to write down on one side of a piece of paper the lies I'd been believing about myself, God, anything. On the opposite side, she told me to write down the truth.

What was actually true?
What did Scripture say?

As I write, I'm looking at that original piece of paper. The list of lies is long–even a bit depressing. But the list of truths is long now, too. Bible references are squeezed in the margins, passages I've held fast to over the past couple years.

The exercise my counselor gave me sounds simple, but it has been profound. There are so many lies from the evil one, from our culture, even from our own minds that we believe. You're a disappointment. You're a failure. You're unloveable. God isn't as good as he says he is. Your work is pointless.

This situation is hopeless. We become entangled in those lies, as if each one was a millstone tied around our legs, weighing us down.

But the truth sets us free. Truth is not a magic spell we utter or a quick BandAid to solve our problems, but when the lies drag us down, truth is our lifeline.

Tish Harrison Warren writes in Prayer in the Night:
"When we're drowning we need a lifeline, and our lifeline in grief cannot be mere optimism that maybe our circumstances will improve because we know that may not be true. We need practices that don't simply palliate our fears or pain, but that teach us to walk with God in the crucible of our own fragility."

For me, a practice that has been that lifeline has been writing out and meditating on the truths that combat the lies I too easily believe. Digging through Scripture to see what God says about who he is and who he's created me to be has been a life-altering exercise. Don't get me wrong, it's not an overnight solution to our struggles. But those millstones we carry can be cut away, one by one. As we hold fast to what's actually true, we can set down the burdens of comparison, worry, perfectionism, condemnation, or whatever else that weighs heavy on us.

Prayer:
God of truth, when I’m tempted to believe lies about who you are, who I am, and what you’ve called me to do, help me hold fast to what is true. Help me to throw off the lies that entangle me so I can do what you’ve called me to do with joy and endurance.

Dig Deeper:
Read Hebrews 10:23. What is the confession of our hope, the truth we can cling to, come what may? Consider reading through all of Hebrews 10-12 and meditate on the truth from those chapters.

Discussion questions:

Write down the lies you've been believing. What have you believed about who God is and who you are?
On that same paper, write down the truths from Scripture that refute those lies. Cling to them. Memorize them. Let them sink into your soul. You might find that those truths become not a cliche, but a lifeline. They're not a BandAid, but a balm God uses to heal the innermost parts of your soul.

About Sarah J. Hauser

Writer & Speaker

Sarah J. Hauser is a writer and speaker living in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and four kids. Through theology, stories, and the occasional recipe, she helps others find nourishment for their souls. Sarah loves cooking but rarely follows a recipe exactly, and you can almost always find her with a cup of coffee in hand. Read more at sarahjhauser.com, check out her newsletter at sarahjhauser.com/subscribe, or find her on Instagram (@sarah.j.hauser).