I have a hard time believing people value my presence. I tell myself things like, \u201cNobody wants to hang out with me\u201d or \u201cI didn\u2019t get invited on their trip \u2014 they must not like me.\u201d<\/p>\n
These are lies. At the very least, they are half-truths. It\u2019s possible that some <\/i>people don\u2019t want to hang out with me \u2014 but it\u2019s a lie that nobody<\/i> does. It\u2019s true that I didn\u2019t get invited on a trip with friends \u2014 but the trip was for those turning 30. I was excluded because I\u2019m 32, not because I\u2019m unliked.<\/p>\n
In the first few years of our marriage, my husband and I established \u201cideals\u201d to uphold in our family. One of them is \u201cShirins don\u2019t believe lies.\u201d We realized how often we spoke things as truth when they weren\u2019t, and we wanted to change that. Whenever I voiced a self-defeating thought, my husband would gently call it out by saying, \u201cThat\u2019s a lie and Shirins don\u2019t believe lies.\u201d His words made me pause and examine what I was accepting as truth. Over time, this practice has helped me recognize and replace lies with what is actually true.<\/p>\n
We all lie to ourselves \u2014 it\u2019s part of our nature. Bren\u00e9 Brown explains<\/span><\/a> that when we struggle, we create stories \u2014 whether true or not \u2014 to make sense of our pain. We must first acknowledge the story we\u2019re telling, then determine if there is truth in it or if it is a lie. Believing lies becomes easier the more we allow them to take up space in our head. As John Mark Comer says<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, \u201cIdeas have power only when we believe them.\u201d<\/p>\n Fighting the lies we tell ourselves requires us to go on offense \u2014 a defensive posture is not enough. Satan, the father of lies, wants to defeat us. He\u2019d love for us to live out of our lies and remain discouraged, angry, fearful and ineffective. With God\u2019s help, we can defeat Satan\u2019s lies using the following steps.<\/p>\n Paul instructs us in 2 Corinthians 10:5<\/span><\/a> to \u201ctake captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.\u201d Likewise, 1 Thessalonians 5:21<\/span><\/a> reminds us to \u201ctest everything; hold fast what is good.\u201d When you are telling yourself a story, take your thoughts captive and evaluate them. Hold on to the parts that are good and true, not the parts that are a lie. I often ask myself, \u201cWould God say that about me?\u201d or \u201cWould someone I love say that about me?\u201d These questions help me assess the thought going through my brain, then discern the parts that are true and the parts that are lies.<\/p>\n Once we\u2019ve identified the story we are telling ourselves as a lie, we need to combat that lie. The best way to do this is to fight it with truth found in God\u2019s Word. Here are some examples:<\/p>\n The lie I believe:<\/strong> \u201cI have no purpose. I\u2019m useless.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The truth of Scripture:<\/strong> \u201cAnd I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ\u201d (Philippians 1:6). God created you for a purpose, and with His help you will fulfill it.<\/em><\/p>\n The lie I believe:<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019m damaged goods. God can\u2019t fix me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The truth of Scripture:<\/strong> \u201cTherefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come\u201d (2 Corinthians 5:17). God redeems and restores our brokenness. In Christ, you are made new.<\/em><\/p>\n The lie I believe:<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019m unlovable<\/span><\/a>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The truth of Scripture:<\/strong> \u201cI have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you\u201d (Jeremiah 31:3). God\u2019s love for you is eternal and unwavering. He loves you because you are His!<\/em><\/p>\n If you\u2019re unsure of a good Scripture verse to fight a lie you\u2019re believing, don\u2019t be ashamed to search online or ask a pastor or friend. I don\u2019t have every verse for every one of my lies memorized. That said, once you identify your core lies and some great Scriptures to counteract them, you may want to write out those verses and have them ready. Even memorize them if you can.<\/p>\n As I mentioned above, <\/b>my husband helps me recognize my lies, and I do the same for him and my friends. When a friend says something about herself that I know to be false, I gently correct her by saying, \u201cThat\u2019s not true about you.\u201d Then I speak truth over her, whether it\u2019s a direct statement about her character or a verse that comes to mind. Speaking the truth over one another has power, and as you make a habit of affirming others, you\u2019ll find it easier to challenge your own lies.<\/p>\n God himself is our biggest advocate in fighting Satan and his lies. Pray continually for a renewed mind<\/span><\/a>, victory over temptation<\/span><\/a>, and the ability to believe and obey God<\/span><\/a>. Then praise God for His goodness and faithfulness to you as you walk forward in faith.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Believing lies comes naturally, but combating them requires practice. This is why we must consistently take our thoughts captive and measure them against God\u2019s truth found in Scripture. Believe what is true, friend. Stop believing the enemy\u2019s lies. God loves you, and it\u2019s time you believe what He says about you. You are infinitely valuable to Him<\/span><\/a>. Copyright 2025 Focus on the Family. All rights reserved.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fighting the lies we tell ourselves requires us to go on offense \u2014 a defensive posture is not enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":42984,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[4,10,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42976","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faith","category-personal-growth","category-spiritual-growth"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to stop believing lies<\/b><\/h4>\n
1. Identify the lie.<\/h5>\n
2. Fight the lie with Scripture.<\/h5>\n
3. Ask others to fight with you. <\/b><\/h5>\n
4. Don\u2019t forget the power of prayer.<\/h5>\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\n