Fighting WOrds
Several years ago I was sitting across the table from a friend of mine who battles depression. As she was sharing her heart, I was getting mad.
There were so many lies that she was believing, and as she continued to share, my anger grew.
I began to realize that there are a mountain of lies that I believe. There are days and seasons that have been ruined and overshadowed by the lies that the enemy whispers in our ears.
I was sick of the enemy stealing the hope and peace and John 10:10 “life to the full” that Jesus talks about coming to give us, and I decided that day that I wasn’t going to let him do that anymore without putting up a fight.
I told my friend to get her journal and I started flipping through my Bible as fast as I could, looking for anything and everything I’d ever underlined. (Do y’all ever do this when you’re desperate?!)
I kept telling her to write down different verses. I told my friend, “Satan is called the Father of Lies and when he lies, he speaks his native language.”(John 8:44).
My heart was beating fast. “I don’t think it’s enough for us to just keep acknowledging the lies. We desperately need to hold onto what is true, so you and I are going to start memorizing God’s word together.”
She was hesitant, but willing, and I was seriously worked up. “God calls His word a sword, and we are gonna use it!”
So we started memorizing God's’ word together. We call the verses we memorize our “fighting words”. And guess what? Our lives has been transformed by the word of God!
Memorizing scripture hasn’t necessarily changed our circumstances, but it has changed us from the inside out. It’s given us something solid to hold onto when the shame storms roll in, and we have realized that God’s not lying when he says that His word is “alive and active. sharper than any double edged sword” (Heb 4:12), and that “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish,….so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will…achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-1
We have seen God’s word water our souls, grow good fruit in our hearts, and give us an anchor that holds fast when the waters rise and we have no control over the storms around us.
Truth be told? I’ve been in the hospital this week with my husband. It has been scary.
We know now that he’s going to be ok, but there have been many unknowns and he has been in a world of pain that nurses and doctors haven’t been able to control.
It’s in places and circumstances like these, in cold hospital rooms when the one you love most is hurting so much, that I treasure and cling to the words that now reside in my heart the most. These precious promises of God that we have memorized have become like breath prayers, “Where can I go from Your spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?”
I whisper them in the dark as my husband tosses in his sleep, reminding my soul that God is here in the hospital with us. Psalm 139 is there, deep in my soul, and as I say the words out loud, my fearful heart is comforted and my eyes are lifting from the IV rack and that hospital bed holding my husband, to the face of Jesus.
“Even if I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me’, even the darkness will not be dark to you. The night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.”
I’m fighting back fear and keeping the lies of the enemy at bay.
A few years into using our “fighting words” to combat the lies of the enemy, a friend of mine pointed out that we were doing exactly what Jesus did when he was tempted in the desert (Matthew 4). For every lie the enemy whispered in His ear, how did He respond? “It is written.” Jesus deflected the lies of the enemy with the truth from His Father's’ word.
What lies are you believing today, sisters? What promises of God can you “fight” those lies with?
Don’t settle for crumbs under the table. God is inviting us to enjoy and savor the feast of His word. There’s a treasure trove of goodness He’s waiting to share with us if we’ll but hold His word in our hands and our hearts.
Ellie Holcomb
Singer-Songwriter Ellie Holcomb, a Nashville native, began her musical career by touring the country with her husband in Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors. After 8 years, and with the birth of their daughter, Emmylou, Ellie opted to step out of the role of heavy touring. Since the release of As Sure As The Sun Holcomb has been walking an unexpected path, one of suffering and loss but also peace and joy. And it is from that place—of finding God in the dark and unexpected—that Holcomb wrote and recorded Red Sea Road (Full Heart Music).
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