|
What's Wrong
with Me?
|
"And
he said, 'Who told you that you were naked?...'"Genesis 3:11a (NIV)
Do you
ever ask yourself: What's wrong with me?
One day
I noticed how many times I do. When I lose my keys, when I'm mean to my
husband, when I don't keep a commitment, when I'm late for a meeting, when I
yell at my kids, when I forget to do something important-the list goes on.
It
dawned on me that every time I asked, "What's wrong with me?" I was
actually telling myself something was wrong with me. Then I would try to figure
out my elusive fault so I could change it.
I
realized what I needed to change was the way I talked to myself. I didn't want
to keep convincing myself something was wrong with me every time I asked, What
is wrong with me?
That's
not what God wants us doing to ourselves. However, we have an enemy who loves
to cast the shadow of self-doubt over us. He tries to get us to focus on all
that is wrong with us (real or perceived), instead of anything that is right
with us.
Scripture
tells us that when Satan lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar
and the father of lies (John 8:44). The word lie means a falsehood with the intent to deceive. Satan intends to deceive our hearts by getting us to
take our eyes off of who we are in Christ and focus on our flaws-then spend our
days figuring out how we can hide them.
One of
his goals is to get us to believe lies that leave us feeling inadequate and
unsure of ourselves. It's just what he did with Eve in the garden. In fact, I
wonder if Eve might have thought, What's wrong with me? when she became aware of her
inadequacy.
Then
the eyes of both [Adam and Eve] were opened, and they realized they were naked;
so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Then
the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the
garden...and they hid from the LORD God...But the LORD God called to the man,
"Where are you?"
He
answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was
naked; so I hid." (Gen. 3:7-10, NIV 1984)
In
verse 11 God responds with a question, asking Adam who told them they were
naked. In other words, "Who told you that something is wrong with
you?" By asking this, God acknowledged there was someone casting shame on
them-and it wasn't Him.
I
believe He wanted them to be aware of their enemy who was whispering lies into
their hearts, causing them to move away from Him and from each other. God also
wants us to be aware that we have an enemy who is constantly trying to convince
us that we're inadequate and that something is wrong with us.
Sadly,
we often go along with Satan's lies and live like they are true. Rarely do we
stop to ask, "Who is saying these things? Who is causing me to doubt myself?
Is it me? Is there something from my past that led me to believe this? Or is it
the enemy of my soul disguising his voice as my own?"
But we
can change that today. First, we need to realize Satan's schemes are the same
for us as they were for Eve. Second, we need to determine we are not going to
keep falling into his traps. Instead we can refute his lies and accusations
with truth. If we have put our trust in Christ as our Savior, we can stand on
these promises:
• When
we feel defeated, God says, "In all these things [you] are more than [a
conqueror] through him who loved [you]..." (Rom. 8:37, NIV)
• When
we feel worthless, God says, "You are precious and honored in my sight,
and . . . I love you." (Isa. 43:4, NIV)
• When
we feel inadequate, God says, "'You are my witnesses,' declares the LORD,
'and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and
understand that I am he.'" (Isa. 43:10, NIV)
Lord,
help me recognize the enemy's accusations and my own self-doubts. Please remind
me of Your unconditional love and help me turn away from the lies so I can
listen to and live in Your Truth! In Jesus' Name, Amen. (
No comments:
Post a Comment