As a homeschooling family, we looked forward to each field trip with great anticipation. Our trip to the fire station was no different. Both my son and daughter could hardly wait. We arrived early and took our seats as the firefighter pressed play on a short, animated video. The cartoon was very informative and showed a small child escaping from a house filled with smoke, all the while explaining to the kids what to do if there were ever a fire in their homes. We continued on with the field trip and then headed home.
That evening began a period of months when my daughter had extreme fears about having a house fire. She did not sleep a full night for months. And neither did I. We were both exhausted. It would take hours for her to go to sleep. Even then, most nights I would end up sleeping with her because she would wake up in the middle of the night, and the fears would start all over. We prayed over her, had others pray over her, helped her memorize Bible verses about not being afraid, and sought counsel from our mentors, all to no avail. We had come to the end of our rope.
That’s when God took over. My husband and I prayed for wisdom on how to handle the situation, and God gave it to me one night as my daughter and I were reading Philippians 4:8.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
“Whatever is true…” That was it. She was believing lies and needed to meditate on the Truth. So the next time she was scared and telling me about it, after she finished, I said, “What is the truth? The truth is you are safe. The truth is Jesus and mommy and daddy are watching over you. The truth is the house is not on fire…” etc. Slowly, we saw a shift in her thinking. She was no longer meditating on the lies; she was focused on the Truth.
God began to show me that this very simple concept, which changed my daughter’s sleepless nights into peaceful rest, was one I needed to learn. He began showing me the lies I was believing, about myself and about Him. Identifying those lies and replacing them with truths from His Word shifted my perspective.
What lies are you believing? That you are alone? That you don’t measure up? Maybe you struggle to believe that God is good and He wants good for you. Whatever the lie is, His Word is filled with Truth that you need to replace it. Search the Word. Make the exchange.
Prayer: Father, help us to recognize the lies that we have been believing, and guide us as we seek to exchange those lies with Truth from Your Word. Saturate our hearts and our minds with Your Truth.
~ Allison Gardner
LOVE this! Amen.