The best thing to Conquer Discouragement This year is to replace the emotional toxins with God’s truth.
Putting off the deceptions and replacing truth. Clear minds create a clearer purpose, helping us find peace and fulfillment.
A few examples of Deception vs. Truth
Guilty vs. Forgiven
- Deception: I have made too many mistakes to be loved by God.
- Truth: “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.” (John 3:16)
Invisible vs. Seen
- Deception: I don’t belong here. I have no community or friends.
- Truth: “She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’” Genesis 16:13
Unimportant vs. Known
- Deception: My life is not important.
- Truth: “‘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.’” Jeremiah 29:11
Unwanted vs. Loved
- Deception: I am unlovable. No one cares about me.
- Truth: “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.” Romans 8:39
Condemned vs. Accepted
- Deception: I do not belong.
- Truth: I am accepted. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.: Romans 8:1
Cursed vs. Blessed
- Deception: I will always be this way because my family is this way. My life is cursed.
- Truth: “‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.’” Numbers 6:24-26
Failure vs. Victory
- Deception: I am a failure. I can’t do anything right.
- Truth: “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1Corinthians 15:57
Weak vs. Powerful
- Deception: I can’t.
- Truth: “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.” 2Corinthians 12:9
Unclean vs. Pure
- Deception: My past and my present are too dirty for me to be called a Christian. I have to be perfect.
- Truth: “All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” 1John 3:3
Bound vs. Free
- Deception: I am stuck. Life will never get any better than this.
- Truth: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1
I hear you say, “Yeah, but . . .” Yeah, but you don’t know how messy my life is. You don’t understand how stuck I am. You don’t see how unlovable I am. If you really knew me…
We often don’t feel qualified to take the words and encouragement God gives us in His Word.
Today is not that day.
The deceptions and truths I listed are not a complete collection of what you may be saying to yourself. Begin to make your own list and search for a scripture to replace those thoughts.
What deception are you telling yourself? Let me know! Email me: billie@billiejauss.com
