James 4:5-10
Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture
says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But
he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but
gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist
the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near
to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you
double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be
turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the
Lord, and he will exalt you.
The girls’ retreat was this past weekend and it was a lot of
fun! The main focus was on how tricky satan can be... how he can fill our lives
with lies that we believe, that are totally opposite of the truths God clearly
says in scripture.
Some examples of the lies we can get trapped in are:
-I’m not good enough
-People don’t like me
-I can handle everything on my own
-I don’t have to change to be a Christian
-My past determines my worth
-The things I do now are not important
There are literally SO many lies we can believe. The longer
we believe them, the more they start showing in our lives.
These verses tell us to...RESIST the devil. This means we
need to FLEE and GET THE HECK AWAY FROM HIM! Read verse 7-8 again:
7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil,
and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to
you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is
divided between God and the world.
It seems simple... humble yourself (realize you have a
problem) then resist the devil and he will flee from you. God’s got your
back... whenever you are ready to flee from the lies satan has instilled in
you, God will help you. It won’t be easy – it will take daily effort, but the
result will be liberating!
The closer we get to God, the closer He will feel to you.
When the lies creep back: read your Bible, pray, memorize scripture, etc... Get
away from satan and closer to God.
People typically don’t root for two sports teams
simultaneously... they have a favorite. We need to be careful not to divide our
loyalty between God and the things of this world (vs. 8). We need God because
this world is a scary place without Him. When you feel like your life is out of
control with lies, draw near to Him.
Psalm 56:3: When I am afraid, I put my trust in you
Joshua 1:9: Have I not commanded you? Be strong and
courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God
is with you wherever you go
Isaiah 41:10: Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed,
for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you
with my righteous hand..
Questions:
1. What are 3 things that you have believed about yourself
that you know are lies?
2. What can you do to remind yourself that these things are
not from God but actually from Satan and not true about you?
3. How can you encourage others that are believing lies
about themselves?
4. Take a minute to journal about this topic.
I have no friends.
ReplyDeleteI'm not good enough for anyone.
My birth mom didn't love me.
These are a few of the many lies I believe. I struggle not believing then because I've known them all my life. I know that God doesn't want me to believe these lies and I'm trying to go to Him when I listen to these lies. I do have friends, CBC is my family. If I wasn't good enough for anyone, Scott wouldn't be my boyfriend and God wouldn't want me. My birth mom most likely loved me deeply and didn't want to give me up.