The Lies We Believe: Beyond Quick Fixes to Real Freedom Part 2Sample

Let me share some of the most common lies people discover when they start digging into their spiders. One of these may resonate with your own experience.

Common lies about God:

• "God has abandoned me"
• "God doesn't hear my prayers"
• "God is punishing me for something I did"

Common lies about ourselves:

• "I'm not worthy of real love"
• "I'm only as good as my last success"
• "I have to control everything to be safe"

Let me provide a real-world example. When I taught a sermon series inspired by Carlos Whittaker’s book, Kill the Spider, someone sent me a shocking message. "I started praying about what my spider was, and I found it. It's prayer."

I was confused because this person is one of the most prayer-focused people I know.

"As you know, I have no problem praying for other people. I have a problem praying for myself because my spider is that I believe God doesn't answer my prayers because He doesn't care for me like He cares for others."

The message continued: "I kept trying to find new ways to pray for myself until I realized that my spider is the belief that God doesn't answer my prayers because He doesn't care about me.”

Wow - what a breakthrough! That kind of clarity is possible for you when you pray David’s dangerous prayer from Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV). “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

When that church attendee explored why praying for self was hard, they discovered a lie. “God doesn’t answer my prayers because He doesn’t care about me.”

Remember, your cobwebs (the surface behaviors you struggle with) often point you toward your spiders (the lies you believe). Let me show you how this works:

If you struggle with pornography, the spider might be: "I'm not worthy of real love, so I have to settle for artificial intimacy."

If you struggle with workaholism or control, the spider might be: "I can't trust God to take care of things, so I have to control everything myself."

If you struggle with people-pleasing, the spider might be: "I'm only valuable when people is happy with what I’m doing for them.”

When you believe a lie and that lie becomes a spider, what God intended to give you as a gift becomes bondage. Work becomes something you need for validation rather than something you enjoy as a calling. Relationships become something you need for security rather than something you enjoy as a connection. Success becomes something you need to feel worthy rather than something you enjoy as stewardship.

James 1:5 describes God's generosity in granting us wisdom. I pray that kind of wisdom to help you identify your potential spiders:

1. What lie might be behind the struggle you can't seem to break free from?
2. When you're in pain or stress, what story do you automatically tell yourself about God or about yourself?
3. What difficult experience in your past might have planted a lie that you're still believing today?

Tomorrow, we'll explore how to begin the process of confronting these lies and replacing them with truth.