Freedom is found through Truth while lies enslave and entrap.
“My son got diabetes and died from complications of the disease because God was punishing me for marrying a non-Christian... I’ve made so many bad decisions in my life that there is no way God wants to hear from me. I feel like I can’t talk to Him because I know He won’t listen to me.”
This was not a statement I expected to hear from a seventy-two year old woman, one who had been a Christian for years, but who was letting Satan have the last word.
Humbled by the scenario before me, I thanked God for the opportunity to speak words of truth and freedom into this sister’s life. She had been living her entire life entrapped by Satan’s lies, burdened by guilt.
I began, “You have three grown children, right?” A loving glimmer filled her eyes and she responded in the affirmative.
“And, even today, when one of your kids is in trouble or has done something wrong, do you want them to avoid you or come to you so that you can comfort them, advise them, and show them love?”
“Well, of course I want them to come to me!”
“And do you think that our loving Heavenly Father is any different when one of His children messes up? Don’t you think He longs to comfort us, advise us, and shower us with His love?”
“I’ve never thought of it that way before...”
The following Sunday, upon greeting my friend, her face was one of peace and she looked as if she had lost 100 pounds off her already small frame. The joy stemming from her newfound freedom was unquenchable. She had embraced the truth of God’s abounding love, giving Him the last word in her life.
Satan wants to rob us of the abundant life Christ offers (John 10:10), but there is hope for redemption, freedom, forgiveness, and even a clean conscience! Shame and guilt do not have to define our lives and our relationships.
Satan creates a negative filter through which we see our actions and decisions. We become focused on our sin and unworthiness instead of the grace and forgiveness that God offers.
Even if we have intellectually accepted God’s forgiveness, it can be hard to forgive ourselves, especially on an emotional level. The shame we feel from our past sins overshadows the cleansing power of God’s grace.
God’s forgiveness is real and redeeming. When He buys us back, the slate is washed clean. We are able to start anew.
“ ‘Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool’” (Isa. 1:18).
Taken from Chapter 10 of Who Has the Last Word? Cutting through Satan’s Lies with the Truth of God’s Word. We invite you to gather with a group of women to walk together toward freedom—true freedom that is only found through Truth. Even today, you can take advantage of the invitation to freedom through the Lie/Truth Chart: Recognizing the Lie, Replacing the Lie with Truth and Remembering the Truth through a specific Bible verse.
