He (Satan) was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.- John 8:44
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.- John 10:10
Now-a-days it is hard to distinguish between what is true and what is a lie, but lies aren’t a new thing. They have been around since the beginning of humankind. We have an enemy. An enemy who does not want the Kingdom of God to continue. He has been attacking the family since Adam and Eve.
It is time that we take a stand and say “no more!” It is time that we roll up our sleeves and fight back. We need to fight for our own hearts and for the hearts of our children. But first we need to figure out what lies he is trying to get us to believe.
Let’s take back the ground we have lost! Today we will share 6 lies Satan tries to make you believe when it comes to parenting. See if you recognize any of them, so that you can start believing the truth instead!
Lie #1: You have to be the perfect parent.
Satan tells us that we have to be the perfect parent. He does that so when we mess up, he can tell us we are a failure. He repeats this cycle until he can get us trapped in a failure mentality and start to give up.
Truth #1: You have been chosen by God to be the perfect parent for your child. You don’t have to be perfect because God already is.
You don’t have to be a perfect parent. Truth is, there is only one perfect parent and that is our Father God. It is impossible for you to do everything right, but we have access to the One who does. We have to rely on Him to lead us. God hand picked you to be the parent of your child. He has equipped you to be the perfect parent for your child. We have to believe that God did not make a mistake.
Lie #2: You have to do everything right or you will mess up your child.
Satan tries to trick us into thinking that if we do something wrong we will mess up our kid and they will end up in jail or will walk away from the Lord. Remember, guilt and condemnation are not from God but from Satan.
Truth #2: Choices matter, but there is always forgiveness and grace.
Truth is we will make a mistake or two or a thousand. Yes – our choices, actions, and words do matter. But we serve a God that is a God of reconciliation and He fixes broken things. We are all learning and growing how to become more Christ-like.
What is important is what we do after the mistake. We need to get into the habit of apologizing to our children when we mess up. We should ask for forgiveness, learn from it and don’t make the same mistake again. When we follow this process, we build trust and credibility with our child. We also model for them how God’s forgiveness and grace works.
Lie #3: You are the only one dealing with this.
Satan tricks us into believing we are the only ones who have this problem. He wants us to believe everyone else has it together but you do not. Cue social media! Satan wants us to feel isolated and alone.
Truth #3: You are not the only one! Jesus understands, and in your community someone else has been in your shoes!
We have a God who loved us so much that He came to earth to walk in our shoes. He became a man so that He could experience life like we do. He has been there and done that. He has experienced all the emotions and relationship troubles. He understands.
Remember, no family is perfect. See lie # 1. I guarantee there is someone else that you know that has dealt with the same issue you are dealing with. God created us to be in a relationship, to do life together. I want to tell you that it is okay to ask for help! Sometimes we need someone on the outside to give us a different perspective that will help us turn our situation around.
Lie #4: You have to know everything before you do anything.
Satan wants to stop us from doing anything that promotes God’s Kingdom. If he can get us to stall out, he wins. Sometimes we stop working out a problem because of laziness. Most of the time I think we stop out of fear, either we are too overwhelmed with all the unknown or we have no idea where to begin. So instead of doing something we do nothing.
Truth #4: You will never know everything, but God gave us the Holy Spirit who does!
God gave us the amazing gift of Holy Spirit when Jesus ascended to heaven. Holy Spirit always knows what to do. He is fully equipped to give you all the wisdom, insight and understanding you need to parent well. Bonus-He is available 24-7! Holy Spirit loves to help you, encourage you, comfort you and lead you. All we have to do is ask and listen!
Lie #5: This is just the way it is going to be.
Satan tricks us into believing our circumstances will never change. It won’t get any better than it already is, and it might even get worse. He loves it when we believe circumstances are out of our control and we just need to settle and admit this is as good as it gets.
Truth #5: With God all things are possible.
Truth is, anything can change. While you can’t control everything you can control how it affects you and your family. It is a matter of choice. Will you let your circumstances take you out or will you choose to give it to God? Real change can happen if you do it in step with God. We have to seek His face and obey His voice. It will take work, patience and purposeful actions but anything can change when God is involved.
Lie #6: This is just the way that I am.
Satan wants us to have a victim mentality. He wants us to believe that we are who we are and there is nothing we can do about it. I am sure we have all heard people say, “Well this is just the way that I am, deal with it!”
Truth #6: We all should be in the process of renewing our body, soul, mind and spirit!
Truth is we can all change and really we all should be changing. Our lives should be focused on becoming the most Christ-like version of ourselves. It takes humility to admit we need to change. It is important that we as parents, as followers of Christ remain teachable. We need to be willing to learn, change and grow. Especially if we want our children to do the same.
Take Back Ground!
Did any one of these lies stick out to you? Which one have you allowed Satan to trick you into believing? Today is the day to take back ground. Which truth are you going to put on your bathroom mirror and start to believe about yourself?
Let’s walk in truth so we can lead our children to do the same!
