“The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world.” 2 Corinthians 10:4
As a rule, we don’t say ‘shut-up’ in our house. It’s just one way we try to help our kids speak kindly. Trust me though, they find other ways to express their displeasure with each other!
But there is one exception to this rule: we can and do say ‘shut-up’ to the lies satan throws at us. We are trying to teach our kids to tell the devil to shut up when the assaults start: the lies that make them question God’s love for them, the lies that attempt to convince them that they must fight for top place, the lies that tell them they are not good enough.
They are learning to say shut-up to lies and to fight those lies with truth. This is a work in progress, but one I pray will take root in their hearts.
Yesterday I found myself becoming overwhelmed with thoughts of fear and debilitating doubts. My last post involved a story of me using the Bible to fight off a bee. I firmly believe that God allowed me to SEE that picture so I would more quickly recognize the real attacks that were coming the next day. I would need to fight off the lies by telling satan to shut-up and then striking him with the Truth. It took a sleepless night and the memory of the bee incident to remind me how to fight:
The lie of fear: You can’t do this! Who do you think you are? Shut-up! God says, ‘I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength’, and ‘God does not give a spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and a sound mind.’
The lie of self-sufficiency: You don’t need help, you don’t have time to spend reading your Bible, you need to jump right in and finish your to-do list. Shut-up! God says, “I am the vine, you are the branches, whoever abides in me bears much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing.”
The lie of competition: There isn’t room for you, others are so much more qualified than you. Shut-up! God says, ‘We are laborers together for His kingdom’ and ‘He establishes the work of our hands.’ His kingdom is infinite and eternal. It is not one room nor one piece of pie, it is infinite rooms and infinite pies.
The lie of perfectionism: Your work is not perfect. How can you even think about turning that in? You need to wait. They are going to think you are stupid. Shut-up! God says, He alone is perfect, and I am a work in progress, yet He loves me, not because of anything I have done, and not because I am good enough, but because He is love and He made me. His strength is perfect in my weakness.
I used God’s Word to swat away a bee on Wednesday, not realizing that I would need it even more yesterday as the lies of the enemy swarmed all around. I will keep telling satan to shut-up and fighting him with God’s Word. The lies won’t stop unless they are struck down with Truth. Positive self-talk doesn’t work, distraction doesn’t work, cleaning doesn’t work. Lies can only effectively be struck down with Truth.
Don’t be afraid to tell the enemy to shut-up today, and then hit him hard with the truth from God’s Word.
