“While you might look at your past as a stumbling block, God sees your past as a stepping-stone. The redeemed trauma of your past, no matter how you received it, can become the springboard for a greater story that God can mightily use.”- Sharon Jaynes
“The weapons we fight with . . . have divine power to diminish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”- 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NIV)
Sharon Jaynes concludes Chapter 10 of When You Don’t Like Your Story. Here she discusses the third and fourth steps to defeat Satan’s lies.
3. Reject the lies. Once you identify Satan’s lies, reject them. And, Sharon exhorts, say it out loud if that helps you! Declare it. Above all, remember that you’re talking to the Enemy – the devil. In the process, take those lying thoughts captive.
4. Replace the lies with the truth. Accept God’s affirmation of you as His child. Also, keep your thoughts focused on the truth. Because, Sharon counsels, the thoughts you consume, in the end, consume you. Therefore, Sharon advises, when the rubber of truth hits the road of adversity, don’t think of the Bible verses about your identity as nice gestures on God’s part. Instead, think of those verses as proclaiming God’s bedrock truth.
In conclusion, Sharon repeats, the very pages you desire to rip out of your story possess the potential to become your greatest treasures. The author explains:
“Without the struggles, I might have a head knowledge about the redemptive power of Jesus, but I would have never had the experiential knowledge that the pain so sweetly instilled in me.
You are more than the splinter of your story that you hate most. You are exactly who God says you are, and the redeemed parts of your story are among the most powerful tools God has given you.”
Today’s question: Do you most often see your past as a stumbling block or a stepping-stone? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Gift for growing or a burden to bear?”
