Happy Sabbath, friends!

For as long as I can remember, Satan has always done his very best to tear me down, or even tear me away from our Heavenly Father. I am certain I am not alone in that, as Satan desires for none of God’s children to follow their Heavenly Father.

I don’t know about you, but one of the biggest ways Satan attempts to do this is by filling my mind with lies. They can be incredibly convincing too, and they often lead to my depression and anxiety increasing because I begin to wonder if those lies could actually be true.

Maybe you are reading this today and experience those same lies in your own mind.

I pray this message reminds you that you are not alone in the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual battles you may face. There is someone else out there fighting similar battles too. That is one of the reasons I strive to be vulnerable with you all through these blog posts — so you may find comfort in knowing that you are not alone, and that God has you…always.

Today, we are going to uncover five common lies that Satan tries to fill our minds with. At least for me, these are the lies I find myself wrestling with most often.

• “I am alone.”
• “I’m not enough.”
• “My past defines me.”
• “God doesn’t have a purpose for my life.”
• “God doesn’t love me anymore.”

Our minds can be filled with countless lies, but today we’re going to discover what God’s Word says about each one of them. Because while Satan speaks lies, our Heavenly Father always speaks truth.

Lie #1 — “I Am Alone”

I am faced with this lie constantly.

Even this past week, my mind has been filled with this very thought.

Sometimes it even turns into, “Everyone hates me,” or, “No one wants to be around me anyway.”

Those thoughts often lead to isolation, depression, and anxiety creeping in…things that do not come from God.

These are lies.

How do I know?

Because the Word of God tells us otherwise.

Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.””

Joshua 1:9 (NIV)
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.””

Psalms 23:4 (NIV)
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

You are not alone.

You are not alone because the Lord is with you.

Our Heavenly Father is with His children through both the highs and the lows. Even if we find ourselves physically alone for a season, we never have to fear because God has never left our side.

The next time this lie enters your mind, I encourage you to return to these Scriptures and remind yourself of God’s truth instead of believing Satan’s lies.

Lie #2 — “I’m Not Enough”

This is another lie I have wrestled with many times throughout my life. There have even been moments when people have spoken those words directly to me, which only gave Satan more ammunition to use against me.

In this world, we constantly compare ourselves to others. Sometimes someone else’s success makes us feel inadequate. Other times, someone’s words convince us we aren’t enough.

Whatever the reason may be, I think we have all experienced this lie at one point or another.

But it is still a lie.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

Psalms 139:14 (NIV)
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

In Christ Jesus, you are enough.

It doesn’t matter whether you are enough for the world when your Heavenly Father already saw you as enough before you were even knit together in your mother’s womb.

Yes, we have weaknesses and shortcomings. But God is merciful, and His strength is made perfect in our weakness.

The next time you are tempted to believe you are not enough, open these Scriptures and remind yourself that you are fearfully and wonderfully made by a God who created you with purpose.

Lie #3 — “My Past Defines Me”

This lie can become incredibly heavy to carry.

Shame, guilt, regret, and past mistakes can feel like a backpack we were never meant to wear.

It becomes discouraging when we begin believing our past determines our future.

Thankfully, God’s Word tells a different story.

Romans 8:1 (NIV)
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,”

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Ephesians 1:7 (NIV)
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace”

When you choose Jesus, your past no longer defines you.

In Christ, you are made new.

Our Heavenly Father does not continually throw our failures back in our faces. Instead, He forgives, restores, and redeems us.

Imagine a notebook filled with marks on every page. Through Jesus, that notebook becomes brand new…as though it had never been written in.

That’s how powerful our God is.

We are still human. We will still make mistakes. But thank God we have a Savior who forgives us the moment we genuinely come before Him with a repentant heart.

Your past no longer defines you.

Jesus does.

Lie #4 — “God Doesn’t Have A Purpose For My Life”

This can be one of the most discouraging lies to believe.

There have been moments when I’ve asked God,

“Why am I even here?”

“Why did You choose me out of all people?”

Maybe you’ve asked those same questions too.

But they are lies.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Every one of God’s children has been created with purpose.

Whether we feel lost or found, God still has a plan for our lives.

Our minds may try to convince us otherwise, especially during seasons of uncertainty, but God’s Word continually reminds us that His plans are good.

When you don’t understand what God is doing, trust that He still does.

Lie #5 — “God Doesn’t Love Me Anymore”

This may be the hardest lie of all.

There have been moments in my life when I truly felt like a burden.

I’ve been a burden to people before, so how could God possibly feel any different?

It is difficult to understand how we can still be loved after we make mistakes because our world often teaches us that failure makes us unworthy.

But God doesn’t work like that.

Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

John 3:16 (NIV)
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

1 John 3:1 (NIV)
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”

God’s love for us is everlasting.

He loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son to die on the cross for our sins.

We are His children.

He does not need us to be perfect before He loves us.

He loves us exactly where we are today.

Right where you are while reading this message…He loves you.

He is simply waiting for you to choose Him.

So the question becomes…

Will you believe the lies?

Or will you believe the everlasting God whose Word is always true?

John 8:32 (NIV)
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””

Amen.