Hello and welcome! Today we're talking about the quiet but dangerous habit that we all fall into when we lie to ourselves and how to listen to God instead. We lie to ourselves more than we realize. Not the big obvious lies, but the quiet ones. I'm fine. I'm in control. I don't need help. I'll never be enough. I'll always be broken. Those messages get repeated so often in our heads they start to sound like truth. But Jeremiah gives us a reality check. In Jeremiah chapter 17, verse nine, we read, the human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? That's a pretty confronting verse, isn't it? We live in a world that says, just follow your heart. But what if your heart isn't telling you the truth? What if your heart is leading you around in circles? What if the voice inside you isn't always the right one to follow? The lies that we tell ourselves often come from fear or shame. They whisper that God is disappointed with us, that we're stuck. That we're on our own. But none of that is true. And that's why we have to learn how to listen to God instead. This is why prayer and scripture change everything in the stillness of prayer. Truth starts to rise to the surface. God's word cuts through the noise. His spirit gently shows us what's hidden and what needs healing. But we only notice if we stop and ask, is what I'm believing actually true? Without that pause, we say we stay trapped in lies that we don't even know that we're telling. You know, I can think of seasons in my own life. When I told myself I had to be strong, that if I let the cracks show, I'd let people down. And for a while, I really believe those lies. But then in prayer, I sense God asking me. Who told you that? And it was then that I realized it wasn't him. The Salvation Army calls us to holy living, but not to a self-made perfection. Holiness isn't about putting on a mask to impress God or other people. It's about letting his love transform us from the inside out. And we can't do that if we're pretending. Prayer is where the mask comes off. It's where we tell God what's really going on and trust that he already knows and already loves the real person underneath. That's the freedom that comes from learning how to listen to God instead of our fears. So maybe today is the day to name the lie to say out loud. This is what I've been telling myself. And then bring it into God's light. Ask him, is this from you? And be ready for his answer. Because God's truth is always better than your fear, always better than your shame, and always better than your self-doubt. When you feel yourself slipping back into the old story, go back to His word. Read it slowly. Sit with it. Let it answer the lie. If the lie says I'm alone, for example. The truth is I will never fail you. I will never abandon you. Hebrews chapter 13, verse five. If, on the other hand, the lie says, I'm not enough. The truth is found in two Corinthians chapter 12, verse nine. My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. The more you practice hearing his voice, the less power those old lies will have over you. And that's how you step into the life he's calling you to live. Not chained by falsehood, but set free by the truth. Today's thought starter for you is this. What lie have you been repeating to yourself? And what does God say instead? Let's pray. God, I confess I don't always see clearly. Sometimes I believe things about myself that just aren't true. Help me to hear your voice above all others. Show me what's real. Root me in your truth. Amen. I'll see you next time as we take another step together in following Jesus.