Exposing the Lie, Rehearsing the Truth
Thursday, June 19, 2025
The Inner Battle You Can’t Ignore
Let’s slow down for a second. Not the kind of slow-down where you keep doing things while your heart’s racing—but the kind where you actually breathe. Inhale. Exhale. Come back to the moment. Because here’s the truth: you’ve been thinking thoughts all day without realizing how much authority they’ve had. And if we’re honest, some of them have been running the show. Quietly. Sneakily. Like background music you didn’t even notice was playing.
But you’ve been sensing it—that disconnect between what you know is true and what you feel is happening. That swirl of “what ifs” and “I should’ve knowns” that tries to name you, limit you, shrink you. And if you're anything like me, there are days when the spiral feels louder than the Spirit. But today is about interrupting that. Not just by trying harder—but by getting rooted deeper.
Because you’re not just battling stress or insecurity. You’re battling a narrative. And that narrative has a source—and it’s not Heaven.
Take Every Thought Captive
2 Corinthians 10:5 gives us a clear strategy: demolish arguments, take thoughts captive, and make them obedient to Christ. God doesn’t tell us to suppress our thoughts or ignore them. He tells us to interrogate them. To hold them up to the light of truth. To ask, “Is this what God says about me?”
This is spiritual warfare at the thought level. It’s where the enemy often gets the upper hand—because he knows if he can shift your beliefs, he can affect your behavior. It started in the garden. The enemy didn’t hit Eve with fear—he started with a question: “Did God really say?” He planted doubt. Distorted God’s voice. And once the distortion was in, it shaped her decision.
And here’s what we forget: distorted thoughts don’t always sound evil. Sometimes they sound responsible. Reasonable. Even humble. But if they don’t line up with the Word of God, they’re lies in disguise.
The enemy is still using that same playbook today. But you are not helpless. You have the Word. You have the Spirit. You have the mind of Christ. And that means you don’t have to believe every thought you think. You get to choose what gets to stay. You are not at the mercy of your mental habits—you are a co-laborer with Christ in the renewing of your mind.
Rewiring What You Believe
You are not your behavior. You are not even your belief. You are the image-bearer of God who can choose what you believe. And with the power of the Holy Spirit, you can unlearn every agreement that isn’t in alignment with heaven.
Neuroscience tells us that the brain is moldable—it’s called neuroplasticity. That means the pathways that were wired by trauma can be rewired by truth. It means you’re not stuck with the thoughts that come automatically—you can train your brain to create new ones. But it’s not just about repetition. It’s about presence. It’s about inviting God into the practice of renewal. You’re not trying to change your mind by yourself. You’re partnering with the Spirit of truth, the One who brings all things into alignment.
Every time you pause and interrupt an old pattern, you’re creating space for a new one to form. Every time you replace a lie with the Word of God, you’re teaching your nervous system that it is safe to believe again. Safe to hope again. Safe to grow. That’s not just science—that’s sanctification. That’s transformation that starts in the brain and flows into the body, the behavior, the relationships, and the calling.
Renewing your mind is not a one-time event—it’s a daily rhythm. And that rhythm forms a holy cadence of becoming.
Recognizing Cognitive Distortions
Cognitive distortions are faulty patterns of thinking that twist reality. These thoughts are so automatic you might not even recognize them as false. But they show up all the time.
Like when you get one piece of critical feedback and suddenly think, “I’m a failure.” Or when someone doesn’t text back and your brain whispers, “They must not care.” Or when a project doesn’t take off right away and you say, “Why do I even try?”
These thoughts feel familiar—but they are not rooted in faith. They are rooted in fear. And fear always lies.
Cognitive distortions are like tinted lenses—they shape what you see and how you interpret it. But the good news is: once you recognize the lens, you can remove it. And that’s what this devotional space is inviting you into—removing the lenses that lie and replacing them with the lens of God’s truth.
From Awareness to Agreement
This is the heart of transformational coaching. It’s not about telling someone what to do. It’s about creating the space where someone can pause, reflect, and notice what they’ve been living out of—and decide to shift. One of my favorite tools for this work is what I call the Belief Tree. It helps you trace the pattern (fruit) to the feeling (emotion), then to the thought (self-talk), to the core belief (the root), and finally to the moment that belief took hold (the soil). Once you’ve traced it, you don’t just remove it—you replace it. You water the new seed with God’s truth.
You begin to say things like,
“I used to believe I had to earn love—but now I know I’m accepted in the Beloved.”
“I used to believe that visibility wasn’t safe—but now I know I was born to be seen.”
“I used to believe I was too much—but now I know I carry the fullness of God’s image.”
Healing doesn’t always feel fast. But it’s holy. And it’s happening.
You don’t have to settle for fruit that doesn’t reflect who God says you are.
You don’t have to keep believing what someone else projected onto you.
You don’t have to rehearse the lies that your pain taught you to expect.
You are allowed to be rooted in something new.
And when the root changes—the fruit has no choice but to follow.
Partnering with the Holy Spirit to Rewire the Root
Find a quiet space today. Set a timer for 15 minutes and get still. Let this be sacred space—not just another task on your list. Ask the Holy Spirit to come close and show you what’s ready to be released.
In your journal or on a voice note, name one behavior that keeps showing up in your life. Not from shame—but from curiosity. What’s that thing you keep doing, avoiding, overthinking, or reacting to?
Ask yourself,
“What emotions are connected to this behavior?”
“Is it fear? Shame? Pressure to prove? Disappointment?”
Then go deeper—
“What am I telling myself when I feel this way?”
Is it, “They’re going to leave”? “I never get it right”? “I should be past this by now”?
Now trace that to the root,
“What belief is driving this pattern?”
“What lie have I agreed with that’s keeping this behavior in place?”
Finally, ask the Holy Spirit to show you the moment this belief began. It might be a childhood memory, a painful experience, a past failure, or a single conversation that lodged something false in your heart. Invite Him into that memory—and ask Him what He wants to say instead.
Write that truth down. Speak it aloud. Rehearse it like your freedom depends on it—because it does.
Then tomorrow, do it again. And the next day. Not out of striving—but out of agreement. You are not just changing what you think. You are aligning with Heaven.
Keep rehearsing the truth until your body feels safe receiving it. Until your soul feels at peace with it. Until your actions start reflecting it.
The Thought Garden Exercise
Let’s turn this into something you can see with your eyes and feel in your body. Because sometimes the only way to shift the patterns in your mind is to step away from your head and into something physical—tangible. Romans 12:2 calls us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. That word renewing implies process, not perfection. It’s like tending a garden—clearing out the weeds, loosening the soil, planting what you want to grow, and returning daily to care for it.
So today, you’re going to create your own “Thought Garden.”
Here’s how. Grab a small bowl, cup, or mason jar—anything that can sit on your desk, your windowsill, or your nightstand. Then grab some paper and something to write with. This is where it gets symbolic.
First, write down three distorted thoughts you’ve been believing lately—thoughts that have been weighing you down or shaping how you see yourself. These are your mental weeds. Write one per strip of paper, fold them, and place them in the bottom of your jar or bowl.
Next, take another set of papers—preferably in a different color—and write down three truth-based thoughts rooted in Scripture or identity. These are the seeds of renewal you want to water this week. Not just general Bible verses—but personal declarations that speak directly to the lies you’ve been believing. Example: If the lie says, “I’ll never change,” your truth might be, “I am being transformed day by day—this process is working.”
Now, take those truth-filled seeds and place them on top of the lies in the jar—but don’t crush them down. Let them sit visibly above the others. Why? Because you are not burying your lies with shame—you are planting new truths with intention. Every time you walk past your jar, see it as a reminder: I get to choose what I water. I get to choose what grows.
For the rest of the week, return to your jar each morning. Pull one of your truth statements out, speak it aloud, and ask yourself: What does it look like to act like this is true today? Let that guide your decisions, your posture, your conversations—even the way you speak to yourself.
And here’s the powerful part: as your mindset begins to shift, you can take those old lie papers, tear them up, and toss them out. Not because they never existed—but because they no longer have authority.
You are tending to your thought life like a garden. And just like any garden, it will need revisiting. Weeds come back. But so does new growth. And with every intentional moment, your mind is learning how to think differently.
Don’t rush it.
Don’t perfect it.
Just return to it.
Because this is what renewal looks like in real life.
Faith-Based Affirmations
I take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.
My brain is being renewed by God’s truth every single day.
I am not what I think—I am who God says I am.
Reflection Questions
What thought have I been rehearsing that is out of alignment with God’s truth?
What’s one lie I’m ready to surrender and one truth I’m willing to believe today?
What would shift in my daily choices if I believed I was already being renewed?
Prayer Targets
Holy Spirit, help me recognize thoughts that are rooted in fear and distortion.
Lord, give me the strength to reject lies and replace them with your Word.
Jesus, teach me how to renew my mind daily through your truth and presence.
Song of the Day
Let this song remind you that God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. Turn it on, close your eyes, and let it reset your atmosphere.
Let’s connect. Not just in the comments, not just with a double tap. I want to know what’s been on your heart. Let’s talk, dream out loud, pray if you need it, laugh if you feel like it, just real space for real conversation.
Listen to Yesterday’s Meditation
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