Hi friends,
Thank you for joining me for this week’s Happy Monday! A warm welcome to our new friends from Saturday’s Urbancrest Women’s Conference.
Today’s Happy Monday is about recognizing three lies from Satan—and three truths from God—to help you silence those lies and stay connected to Him.
It’s no secret that Satan likes to mess with us. Known as the Deceiver, he uses temptation, distraction, shame, and our unhealed pain as wedges to pull us away from trusting God. If he can get you to step back even a little, he’ll slip a lie into that gap. If you don’t notice, that lie will weave itself into your life, leaving you afraid of God, anxious about the future, hopeless, or trapped in sin.
Becky (left) and Patty (holding her service dog) drove four hours from Pennsylvania to Lebanon, Ohio for my Urbancrest Women’s Conference on Saturday. They joined our Happy Monday community after I spoke at an Aspire Event in Plum, PA. Becky leads Bible study and her group did the Surrendered Study last year. Patty is walking again after a year of being bedridden. She’s praising God that she’s up and mobile again. It was so nice to see them!
Satan loves to play his lies like a Spotify playlist—on repeat. Here are a few of his greatest hits:
You are all alone.
You’ve made too many mistakes for God to use you.
You can’t come back to God until you get yourself together.
God likes you a little less when you forget to pray or read your Bible
You deserve the bad things that happen to you.
If you make a mistake, God’s gonna get you.
You’re too young or too old for God to use you.
What lies do you hear? If you’re not sure, here’s your assignment: pay close attention to your thoughts today. What condemning, fear-inducing thoughts or dire predictions keep repeating in your mind? Write them down, then open your Bible to see if they align with God’s Word.
While I’m not a fan of giving Satan too much attention, we must stay aware that he’s always looking for an opening to dangle a lie in front of us. Friend, these lies are straight from the pit of hell! The best way to cut off Satan’s lies is with the power of God’s Word.
Let’s look at three common lies and silence them with God’s truth. His Word is our sword that cuts through the shadows of fear and falsehood. When we stand on Scripture, we don’t just recognize what’s true; we begin to live in the freedom and abundance Jesus promised us (Hebrews 4:12–13; John 10:10 NLT). At the end of today’s devotion, I’ve included a powerful spiritual warfare prayer to help you speak God’s truth over your life.
Lie #1: God doesn’t love you because you messed up.
Truth #1: Nothing can make God stop loving you.
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. —Romans 8:38 NLT
Lie #2: God doesn’t care about you or your problems.
Truth #2: God is present with you in every struggle.
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
—Isaiah 43:2 NLT
When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
—Isaiah 43:2 NLT
Lie #3: God could never forgive what you’ve done.
Truth #3: There’s nothing too big or bad for God to forgive when we humbly ask.
But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
—1 John 1:9 NLT
—1 John 1:9 NLT
I don’t know what’s happening in your life or what you’ve been through, but I suspect many of you needed one or more of these verses today.
Recently, I had a terrible day because I believed a lie Satan slipped in after a difficult counseling session. I returned to Christian counseling to work through an issue. I’d been praying, fasting, and surrendering, but I was stuck. After a few session I experienced a spiritual breakthrough, but the answer to my prayer was hard to hear.
I realized my error mistake and after I took accountability, I started beating myself up. I was so focused on my failure that I didn’t notice Satan slipping a lie into my hurting heart: “You’ve been wrong about everything.” Oh, that one cut deep.
For the rest of the day, I blamed myself for everything that had gone wrong in my life and my kids’ lives. When friends checked on me, I sent back a dramatic, dark text. One dear friend replied, “Barb, you are believing some ugly narratives.”
She was right. Yet, in my hurt and pain, I couldn’t see the lie. It wasn’t until another friend, Marna text back a prayer that acknowledged the spiritual warfare and declared God’s truth over me.
That text prayer pierced through that dark lie. God’s truth cleared my mind almost instantly. After a full day of despair, regret, and anger, I could finally see the deception. I was shaken by how easily that lie slipped in under my pain—but praise God for girlfriends who saw the lie when I couldn’t.
This is why we need a trusted community around us. When it comes to spiritual warfare, we can’t forget the truth of Ecclesiastes 4:9–12, which reminds us that we need others to help us when we’re struggling. We should never try to fight the enemy’s schemes alone.
I’m closing today’s devotion with my friend’s prayer, because I think someone reading this devotion needs this prayer today:
I’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU: Hit reply and write “Not today, Satan” if one or you needed to read today’s devotion or receive that prayer. What lies do you need to silence with God’s Word. Keep reading those verses all day today!
Share today’s devotion with a friend who needs it!
After I wrote this devotion, I remember Marna gave this mug to me as a Christmas gift a year or two ago.
PRAISE IS A WEAPON AGAINST LIES! CHECK OUT MY “PRAY LIKE THIS” SPOTIFY PLAYLIST!
TWO NEW BOLD, BRAVE, & BEAUTIFUL PODCAST EPISODES!
This week, I’m celebrating two friends with TWO amazing new books! These are conversations on the podcast that you don’t want to miss. Becky and Alexandra are phenomenal authors and communicators. On my podcast, they share their powerful stories, fresh Biblical insights, and practical ways to deal with anxiety and let go of offense. Enjoy both episodes – I sure did!
