5 Ways to Silence the Lies in Your Head

by Sheila Walsh | Sep 2, 2021 | Life Advice, Testimonies, Wisdom

Sitting outside on a warm spring morning and reading through my journal-turned-book-I-didn’t-mean-to-publish helped me see how far Christ has brought me in my journey, but honestly, I also saw how much further I still have to go. As I paused on the short poems I’d written, they told a vivid story of the storm that had been going on inside me back then. I remembered the fear I felt, deep gut-level fear of what would happen to me when people found out that I spent time in a psychiatric hospital. I wrote,

“Today I am afraid.

My enemies are many.

They march up to my door

and blow with all their might.

They take my name and tar and feather it

for all the world to see.

I stand and watch.

They whisper in my ear,

“It’s all over. The curtain’s coming down.

The crowd is going home. The lights are going out.”

I remember feeling that way. Mental illness, particularly in the Church, held so much stigma. We have come a long way since then and have a longer way to go, but when I was hospitalized, I didn’t know of one other Christian who struggled with depression. As far as I knew, I was the only one who was failing God and falling apart. For me, it was the perfect storm. My greatest fear crashing into my most deeply held belief.

Don’t let anyone see the real you or they will leave.

I’m too broken to be loved.

I wonder what those deeply held beliefs are for you? We all have them. They were usually etched into our souls when we were young. They’re not all negative beliefs; many of the beliefs are the strong foundation stones that set us up for healthy choices later in life.

When you look for a husband for example, if you were raised by a dad who loved you well and spoke words of life over you, you’re less likely to fall for someone who tears you down. That message would sharply contradict what you know to be true and how relationships should be.

Sometimes you might be blinded by love but you have a much better chance of choosing someone who is healthy and supportive emotionally if you had a loving dad rather than a father who belittled you.

If you were raised to believe that you are smart and gifted and that God has an amazing plan for your life, then you won’t quit the first time someone says no to you. When you want to join a team, or go to a particular college or apply for a job, if the initial responses are negative you’ll try until you succeed.

Those kinds of deeply held beliefs are like a balloon that lift us up.

But when the messages are negative, however, they are like weights that pull us right back down to earth the moment we try to rise.

You’ll never amount to anything.

You’ll always be overweight.

You don’t deserve to be happy.

You were a mistake.

There’s something wrong with you.

You look awful in that.

Those kinds of messages have loud voices; they’re hard to ignore. So how do we counter something we’ve believed for a long time? How do we silence the lies? Here are the five things that have helped me silence the lies in my head.

Studying God’s Word. I never let a single day go by without reading God’s truth. I read it out loud. I choose a verse and meditate on it during the day. I read what God says about my life no matter how I might feel at that moment. If your deeply held beliefs tell you that you’re not worth loving, that you’ll never change, then find some go-to verses that confront those lies.

Here are a couple of my favorites.

“For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain.” (Isaiah 54:10)

My very favorite, read-it-every-day passage:

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38–39)

Whatever your particular struggle is, find truth in God’s Word and read it over yourself every day as often as you need to silence the lies.

Prayer. I wrote a whole book about prayer called Praying Women in 2019 as I recognized this was a weak area in my life. I pray when I first get up in the morning. It’s more of a “Good morning, Lord,” than anything else. It’s my way of greeting a new day in God’s presence.

Then I have times when I’m specifically praying and interceding for a particular person or situation, but I talk to my Father all day long. When I’m in the car, waiting in the grocery line, when I’m happy, when I’m sad, I talk to the Lord.

Worship. I have a worship playlist on my phone. I’ve chosen songs that have deep spiritual truth, songs that remind me of the unfailing love of God. I worship along when I’m having a good day or a bad day. When I feel myself sinking I listen and allow the words to wash over me.

Thanksgiving. There is great power in gratitude, in giving thanks for God’s faithfulness and love. When life is hard though it’s challenging to be thankful. That’s why I think of thanksgiving as a choice, a discipline. Every day I thank God for five things. Some days those are things like a significant answer to prayer. Other days it’s something as simple as our older dog, Tink, sleeping through the night instead of needing to go out five times.

Repentance. During the pandemic and quarantine of 2020, I discovered a whole new discipline I hadn’t considered in dealing with the impact of negatively held beliefs. I had to call my broken belief system what it was. Sin. I had to embrace a whole new way of living that was not a once-for-all decision but a daily commitment to repentance. Repentance is an old fashioned sounding word but it has a very simple, powerful, life-changing meaning.

In the Old Testament there are two Hebrew words used to help us understand repentance. The first is the word, nacham. This means to turn around or to change your mind. The second is the word, sub. It is used hundreds of times in the Old Testament and is translated by words like turn, restore, or return. When you come to the New Testament the Greek word that is translated repent is metanoia, which literally means to change your mind.

When lies play on repeat in my mind, when I choose to believe them over what God’s truth says about me, when I overreact because something someone said or did triggered a wound caused by one of those lies, it’s sin. We don’t like that word in our culture. Yet the stark, unswerving message of the Word of God is that we are all sinners, every single one of us.

I wonder if the reason these lies, these negatively held beliefs, are so prominent in our minds is because we have not allowed salvation to do its full work. Let me explain what I mean. When we’ve embraced a life of faith we know that our sins are forgiven. We are no longer sinners; we are sinners saved by grace. While that is gloriously true I think we forget the full reach of what sin really is.

In his masterly work, The Reason for God, Timothy Keller quotes Simone Weil,

“All sins are attempts to fill voids. Because we cannot stand the God-shaped hole inside of us, we try stuffing it full of all sorts of things but only God may fill it.”

I’ve known that quote for years but I hear it differently now than I used to. When I examine my own life, I see clearly that even though I gave my life to God when I was eleven, I’ve resisted letting Him fill all the voids, the broken places, the fear-filled places, the tearstained places. The places where these lies and beliefs were born. This was not an intentional resistance, just a broken understanding of how great and wholly invasive God wants to be in our lives. He wants to be our everything.

Let’s let Him. When lies run rampant through our thoughts, let’s pause. Let’s counter them with God’s Word, prayer, worship, thanksgiving, and repentance. Let’s let God fill the voids. Let’s let Him be our everything.

Sheila Walsh is a Bible teacher and bestselling author with more than six million books sold. She is cohost of the television program “Life Today,” airing in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia, with almost one billion potential viewers daily. Calling Texas home, Sheila lives in Dallas with her husband, Barry; her son, Christian; and two little dogs, Tink and Maggie, who rule the roost. Her latest book, Holding On When You Want to Let Go, is available now.

Lessons From A Baby Turtle

by Ashley Hetherington | Aug 31, 2021 | Life Advice, Testimonies, Wisdom

This past weekend, my bestie Kelsey and I went for a walk at a popular park in Nashville. Just as we were beginning our walk, I saw her leap midair in excitement, yelling, “TURTLE!” We looked down to see a baby turtle, the size of a quarter, right at our feet. 

Kels and I just paused and stared at it for a while – admiring his cute little head and getting way too close to it. Come to think of it, this little guy must have been scared out of his mind. 

Because we were way too close for his liking, the turtle started to move away from us toward the grass. He was a long way from home. The grass looked like it could swallow him whole, and at the pace he was going, it would take him a long time to get to the river. 

Kels felt some sympathy for the turtle, which I deeply respect. “Oh my gosh, should we move him closer to the water? It looks like he is about to go into this wilderness!” She said as she crouched down by the turtle, looking at him with kindness. 

I, on the other hand, was already on my merry way – ready to continue the walk. My Apple Watch timer was on and I did not want to pause it because of a turtle who lost its way.

“I think we should just let nature run its course,” I responded. (Yes, looking back, I realize this was a very insensitive remark.) 

Just when I was about to keep walking and hope Kelso would follow, a couple came up to the turtle and took sympathy for it too. 

The guy looked at us and said, “Usually with turtles, they turn in the direction they want to go.”

The turtle had his eyes on the water. Yet he was far away. This is what led us to the grand finale, our new friend picking up this little guy, carrying the turtle daintily in his hand, and bringing him within feet of the river. 

What would’ve taken the turtle hours just took him about 30 seconds with this man, who picked him up and put him exactly where he needed to be. He did not have to walk through any large pieces of grass to make his way to the place of life and abundance. It was done for him automatically. 

GOD WILL MAKE A WAY 

Isaiah 43:19 says:

 “Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

 See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland.”

We, like this turtle, move pretty slow on our own. What could take us months or years can take God just a snap of his fingers. 

When we are faced with a wilderness, a difficulty, an obstacle, we can choose to walk our way through it alone. We can choose the option of striving. In this turtle’s case, striving would have looked like taking forever to go through the tall grass, just hoping he’d make it to the water.  

Or, we can accept help from the One who can make a way where there is no way. Who can get us through the wilderness and provide streams in the wasteland, just like that. 

 Ι don’t know what wilderness you find yourself in front of today – what looks like it is just way too difficult to walk through. You have two options. You can choose to walk through it yourself. Or you can choose to rely on God, and let Him take you there. You can choose to rely on self or you can choose to rely on the Lord. 

And let me just reassure you – going by yourself is a much longer route than letting God take you there for you. What could take you ten years can take God the snap of His fingers. He is the best person for us to go to, because He can always do what we cannot. 

ARE YOU STRIVING OR ARE YOU RELYING ON GOD?

Whenever I am faced with a big project, or a big goal, or a big dream… I can either try to get there on my own. Or I can try to get there with God. 

I can always tell if I am relying on my own strength if I am exhausted, anxious, stressed, or staying up till obscene hours of the night. 

But when I rely on the Lord to get there – I am comforted with so much more peace. What used to stress me out is actually so much easier. Because if He’s the one responsible for making a way, it’s not all on me. What a relief that is.  

TURN IN THE DIRECTION YOU WANT TO GO

The turtle didn’t ask to be picked up, nor did the turtle work to be provided for. All he did was turn in the direction that he wanted to go. 

My dear friend, you don’t have to strive. Wherever it is you want to be, you don’t have to get there on your own. In order for God to do what only He can do, you need to allow Him to do what only He can do. All you need to do is focus on where you are looking.

You don’t have to know “how” you’re going to get there. Let go of the strategies and what has been done before. He is doing a new thing! All it requires is for you to turn towards HIM, and seek Him. Fix your eyes towards Heaven and rely on Him to take you to the next destination. 

And just before you start to walk into the wilderness alone, the grace of God will pick you up and put you exactly where you need to be. Without you even seeing it coming, you’ll be provided for abundantly. 

God can do what we can’t. It’s about time we turned towards the direction of Jesus and watch Him do what only He can do. The water will sure taste good. 

Ashley Hetherington is an author, content creator, and lifestyle blogger behind The Honey Scoop, a platform designed to add a sweet scoop of encouragement to your day. Through her Bible studies, books, and online content, she helps thousands of women grow their faith with biblical truth and practical application. Ashley has a degree in Journalism and Interactive Media Studies from Miami University. Ashley enjoys reading books, asking the question “why?”, and drinking too much coffee. She hopes to lead you closer to God and closer to the person He created you to be. Build your faith through her latest Bible study, Beauty for Ashes, which takes women on an 8-week journey to finding healing and freedom in the Lord.

Running to a New Pace

by Hope Harris | Aug 26, 2021 | Life Advice, Testimonies, Wisdom

Do you ever feel like you’re depleted of energy and lacking motivation? Are you totally burnt out? You’re not alone, friend. It is no surprise that a study by Gallup reveals 76% of full-time workers experience burnout.

I’ve had my fair share of crash and burn moments. The culprit of most of these moments was that I simply didn’t want to slow down or put aside self-created goals and expectations.

Once I determined my final destination, there was no stopping until I reached it. I have sacrificed my health, relationships, and joy at the expense of reaching something I decided I needed to achieve.

Can you relate?

It is story time – let’s virtually travel back in time to Lausanne, Switzerland together.

You’ve now been teleported with me to a lively, French speaking city nestled on Lake Geneva. Picture yourself in a beautiful vineyard looking at a crystal-clear lake that leads to snowy mountains and a sneak peek of Evian, France.

We are at the Lausanne Half Marathon on my twentieth birthday: October, 26^th, 2014.

Let’s just put it this way: I cut some corners when training for this race. I didn’t exactly prepare my body or focus on the nutrition my body needed because at the end of the day I was thinking about the medal and how cool it would be to say I did the race.

Running on an apple and croissant, I started the race at an eight-minute mile pace. Three miles in, I wasn’t feeling so great.

I didn’t want to slow down or listen to my body. I was going to finish this race and stick to the unrealistic pace I had set for myself.

Let’s fast forward this race a bit. The finish line was finally in eye sight and the strangest thing happened. I straight up passed out.

The video from the race shows me falling and totally unconscious just steps before the finish line. Paramedics put me in a wheel chair and pushed me to onsite help.

I woke up two hours later to French speaking doctors where I mumbled one of the only French phrases I knew (I may have also cut some corners in my French class, too.) “Je suis étudiante,” which means I’m a student.

I’m sure the doctors found this fact to be less than helpful and looking back myself, it is quite hilarious that this was the one thing that immediately came to mind to share.

To finish up the story, once I gained consciousness, I ended up walking to the metro to head back to Pepperdine’s study abroad housing.

This moment quickly made me realize that running another half marathon wasn’t in the cards, but I never slowed down or questioned my pace outside of the race. I was still my own pacemaker.

I spent the next few years of college burning the candle at both ends. After graduating college in April of 2017, my husband and I got married in June and we moved to Washington D.C. to start our careers.

My first job started the day after we arrived at our seventh-floor, five hundred square foot apartment in Arlington, Virginia. This pretty much set the tone for the rest of my career. I’m four years post-grad and have had a total of nine different roles.

My life was starting to look a whole lot more like a game of Chutes and Ladders than a life of surrender to the One who created me and you.

At just twenty-six, I was burnt out, exhausted, and wishing for retirement. My life was full of discontentment, hurry, and fear. I mentally felt like I was right back at the Lausanne Half Marathon.

I feared I would fall behind.

I questioned who I really was.

I was anxious to reach my next goal. 

I didn’t have time to truly seek and listen to God.

Do you find yourself in the same place? Do our stories share some similarities?

About six months ago, I realized that something was going to have to change and I started trying to get to the root of the constant burnout I faced.

Why was I pushing myself to perform a specific way? Where did I even get the idea that this was the pace I needed to go at? How did I come up with this list of expectations?

You see, it boiled down to putting my worth in titles. It is not a coincidence that the first thing I told the medical crew was that I was a student. The habit only continued through post-grad. My title at work quickly became my identity.

There was only one way to fix this. I knew I needed to truly surrender and find my identity rooted in the ultimate pacemaker: God.

Ready for a challenge? I want you to truly start believing that your identity is first and foremost being a child of God.

God calls us His children throughout the Bible. God uses the humble and what the world may consider lowly to glorify His kingdom. Children ask for help, love on others, easily trust, and giggle with joy. He knows we are frail, yet gives us a position of righteousness.

Your current title, where you’re from, how much money is in your bank account, or what you’ve accomplished during your lifetime cannot make you deserve this title more than the person next to you.

Contrary to culture, a purpose filled life isn’t always about climbing to the next step on the ladder. A purpose filled life is one that is okay with finding a chute that takes you to what the world may deem as a lower place in order to bring glory to God’s kingdom.

As we get to know God, we learn that when we have nothing left to give, He gives us everything we need. God doesn’t operate on the currency of time and we don’t have to live up to the worldly expectations of success.

No amount of rest can put a stop or delay the plans He has for you.

The overachiever and passionate person you are may not be super cozy with the idea of rest, but friend it is essential that you slow down to rest when burnout sets in so you can find renewal from God.

What if we become so busy with our day-to-day plans and the constant hustle to do more that we miss the small moments that change everything for His kingdom?

Culture tells us that busyness is significant. God tells us that all who are weary and burdened can come to Him to find rest (Matthew 11:28-30).

Let’s talk about the hats you wear for a second. God created rest so that we can experience a renewal that allows us to wear our different hats a little more intentionally and serve those around us in the way we were designed.

Even Jesus chose a moment of solitude at times so He could renew His mind and spend time with God. When we treat ourselves like a machine, we forget to unplug and ask God for His direction. We can get so caught up with busyness that we forget we have unlimited access to the One who intentionally created us.

You aren’t running what might feel like a half marathon you haven’t trained for alone. God is by your side and He will give you strength throughout your race. He is mindful of your needs and is not limited by your weakness. You are His child and He loves you.

1 Corinthians 9:24-25 NIV says, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

Don’t let the world deceive you. Your final destination isn’t that job title, buying that house, hitting that six-figure salary, driving that car, marrying that person, or taking that vacation. You are running your race not for some cheap medal, but to bring God glory, disciple others, and live an eternal life with Him.

When you start to get burnt out with busyness, re-prioritize, spend time in His word, rest, and don’t grow weary. Regardless of where you are or where you think you should be, your purpose is incomparable and God has you there for a reason.

Keep showing up and surrendering your daily race to Him, friend! Nothing satisfies like Jesus.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)

Here are a few journaling prompts to help you unpack what is weighing you down and overcome the burnout you are facing:

1. What is happening in your life that only God could orchestrate?
2. What fills your plate? Why did you take on each responsibility?
3. Prioritize what is on your plate. What can you stop doing? How can you create a lighter load and trust God with what you can’t continue to take on?
4. How can you incorporate a better balance with the hustle and rest so you can live out God’s plans for you?
5. How can you seek God’s direction each day?
6. What are some ways you can add rest into your routine?

Hope Reagan Harris is a wife, dog mom, iced vanilla latte drinker, and most importantly a Jesus seeker. She strives to encourage those around her on their everyday journey with God. Her first book will be published with DaySpring on March 1, 2022. She’s on a mission to point others to Jesus so they can dig into the Word and start understanding how seen, known, and loved they truly are. You can become virtual friends with Hope on Instagram @hopereaganharris!