Can I Get Free From the Lies That Tangle Me [Episode 109]

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Have you ever heard of the game, Three Truths and a Lie? Well, KC and I are playing our own version today—Three Lies and a Truth.

Okay, see if you can pick out the truth:

Our struggles don’t define us. God defines us. He determines who we are. [Click to Tweet]
  1. I end this podcast episode by yodeling.
  2. I recorded this conversation without moving my lips.
  3. I quit drinking coffee after we finished this episode.
  4. I end this episode by singing!

Do you have it? Well, you’ll have to listen to this episode to check your answers—but I will tell you this: these aren’t the only lies we’re talking about today.

In this episode of the 4:13 Podcast, we’re exposing three more lies, and these lies are much more significant. They’re the big lies that most women believe. You’ll hear us unpack these lies and help you learn how to replace them with the truth that will set you free.

So, sister, let the untangling begin!

The Top 3 Lies Women Believe and How to Get Free From Them

  1. Who I am and what I struggle with are the same things. This first lie makes a direct correlation between our behavior and our character. For example, “If I fail a test, I’m a failure,” or “If I overeat, I’m a glutton.” But even winners lose games, and even straight-A students get B’s. If we assume we are our weaknesses, we’ll live in defeat.

    The truth is that we are who God says we are, not the culmination of how our weaknesses and struggles make us feel. Our struggles don’t define us. God defines us. He determines who we are. If you’re not sure if you believe this lie, do a self-assessment. When you talk about or to yourself about yourself, what words do you use? Describing who you are always begins with, “I am” not “I feel.”

    Even though our struggles don’t define us, they can refine us. God can use them to clarify His life and character in us. He’s been doing that in my life when it comes to my struggle with anger.

    So how can you get free from this lie? Start by reminding yourself of the truth found in 2 Corinthians 12:9. Here Paul writes, “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” You may even want to memorize it and quote it every time you start to struggle.

  2. Who I am and what I do are the same things. When we believe this second lie, we base our sense of self on our abilities, profession, or status. But when and if these things change, we have no idea who we are. Friend, don’t beat yourself up if you get tangled in this lie. It’s a tough one because it’s a belief that’s engrained in us. Think about it: We ask our kids, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” But what we’re really asking is, “What do you want to do?”

    The truth is that our identity isn’t based on what we achieve. Instead, it’s based on what God did for us and the unchanging Truth of God’s Word. We simply receive who we are “from” God, not achieve a status “for” God.

    Today, choose, meditate on, and memorize Ephesians 2:10. This truth from Scripture says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

  3. Who I am is not good enough. When we’re “performance” driven rather than “provision” driven, we live with a “not good enough” mentality. This third lie causes us to tell ourselves we must perform to be accepted. To say who we are isn’t good enough will keep us always spinning, trying to please, swimming in shame, and coming up short.
    You’re good enough because God is good, He is enough, and you are found in Him. [Click to Tweet]

    The truth is that God tells us He’s performed on our behalf, and His provision is sufficient. We’re found in Him. Our righteousness is “from” God. God’s provision is enough. His righteousness becomes ours when we become His. We’re good enough because He is good, He is enough, and we are found in Him. And ultimately, believing we need to be “more” shows we believe God isn’t enough—we trust ourselves and our opinion of ourselves more than we trust God and His opinion of us.

    Philippians 3:9 is a great truth you can use to detangle this lie. It says “… and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.” Spend some time meditating on and memorizing this one too!

Friend, your soul’s enemy wants you to be bound up in lies that keep you from being who God made you to be. Don’t let him do that. Instead, trust the truth that God says.

You can get free from the lies that tangle you because whatever you face, however you feel, you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.

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