33. A Divine Exchange

Hello, and welcome back to the Wilderness Blog! We’re going to continue delving into the topic of how to process the tough stuff we have to deal with, when walking through a hot, dry wilderness, so hold onto your seat – here we go!

We talked last time about pinpointing the emotions you are feeling. Once you’ve done that, the next step is to pray, let go of the negative feelings and receive from the Lord the good emotions that He wants to give you. It’s a divine exchange. He will never leave us in a place of despair. As soon as we reach out to Him, He will pour out His goodness because He is so kind. There is a suggested prayer at the end of this blog with the activation, if that is helpful for you.

At that point, take some time to listen to Holy Spirit. Sometimes we presume that the ‘replacement emotion’ will be obvious – for instance, love instead of anger or peace in place of anxiety – but sometimes Holy Spirit will surprise you with an unexpected emotion, so it’s always worth asking Him what He wants to give you, rather than presuming you know!

Once he shows you, receive whatever it is He shows you and thank Him for it.

Lie busting

Processing feelings takes place in the arena of our emotions, but we also need to deal with the arena of our thoughts, and that’s where something that is often called ‘lie busting’ comes into play. Satan isn’t called the accuser of the brethren for no reason – he is an expert at whispering lies to us. However, he isn’t always very original and I’ve found he will often use the same lies over and over. Although that tactic isn’t very unique, it can be effective because, if you hear the same lie over and over again, you can start to believe it. After a while, if you’ve heard the lie often enough, it can become hard to differentiate between what is a lie and what is the truth.

It’s a similar concept to the soundtrack that plays throughout a movie. Most of the time as we watch the movie, we are not consciously aware of the soundtrack that’s playing. However, it’s there nevertheless, underpinning the movie and helping to create context and mood. It directly affects our watching experience, whether we realise it or not. Often the time we are more aware of the soundtrack is when something dramatic happens because that’s when ‘epic orchestral music’ starts playing, or dramatic beats and rhythms start to cause our heart rate to increase.

These movie soundtracks are not unlike the thoughts that play in our minds throughout the day. Most of the day we’re not consciously aware of them but, when something happens that heightens our emotions, that’s usually when we become more aware of them. That’s also often the time when our ‘soundtrack’ highlights our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) the silent rhetorical questions like “Am I ever going to be good enough”? “Why can’t I do this?” and “Why is this happening again?”

Continuing with our example of the person struggling with their job, thoughts like “I’m so useless, I’ll never be any good” or “I’m never going to get a promotion” might go through their mind with monotonous regularity, as part of their ‘soundtrack’. These kinds of thoughts are lies planted by our enemy, the accuser of the brethren. However, if you believe them and accept them, they can become like a self-fulfilling prophecy, similar to Job’s experience in Job 3:25, when he said, “What I feared has come upon me”.

The first step to ‘busting lies’ is therefore to recognise what is a lie. If you’ve been listening to lies such as “I’m useless, I’ll never be any good” for a long time, you may not even consciously realise that it’s a lie. Therefore, it’s a good idea to ask Holy Spirit to show you what lies you are believing in relation to the issue you are processing. Ask Him, ‘Is this true or is it a lie? Is this what You say about me or my situation?’ You can also talk through some of your ‘soundtracks’ with a trusted friend or your spouse.

Once you’ve identified a lie, it’s important to break agreement with it. Colossians 2:14 tells us how Jesus cancelled the debt against us because of our sins, and nailed them to the cross that He died on. So that’s what we pray. As before, I’ve included a prayer with the activations at the end of the blog, if you would like help with that.

As you did with the divine exchange of emotions, quiet your heart and wait on the Lord and He will tell you the truth about your situation, about who you really are and who He has made you to be. Sometimes, if you are struggling to hear from Him, talking it through with a friend can help to outline the truth. It doesn’t have to be long or complicated; it’s often very simple and sometimes only one or two words, but it will come with a sense of freedom and revelation.

It’s important that you write that truth down so that, next time that lie plays in your mind, you can say, “No, I’m not useless. God says I am His workmanship….or God made me creative …” or whatever the truth was that God told you. In time, you will build up a list of truths about who your Father says you are and what He thinks about you, which is a weapon you can use to combat the lies and accusations of the enemy.

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Until next time ….

Choose one of the situations from the list of disappointments which you compiled during the previous blog’s activation, or a memory which Holy Spirit has highlighted to you.

Ask yourself, “What am I feeling?” (Google ‘feelings words’ if you need help identifying specific feelings). Using the prayer below, if that is helpful, to forgive the person or people associated with that negative experience, and ask Holy Spirit to exchange the negative feelings for positive ones.  (Substitute ‘anger’ for whatever emotions you felt)

“Father, thank You that Jesus died on the cross for me so I can be free. I choose

 to let go of my anger towards (name of the person who makes you angry)

right now in Jesus name. (Name of the person who makes you angry)

I forgive you for (whatever it was that they did). Holy Spirit, what do You

want to give me in exchange for my anger?”

Ask Holy Spirit to show you what lies you are believing. Using the prayer below, if it is helpful, break agreement with the lie and ask Holy Spirit to tell you the truth about that situation. (Substitute the lie that ‘I’m useless and will never be any good’ with the lie you’ve believed).

“I break agreement with the lie that I’m useless and will never be any good. I nail

that lie to the cross right now, and I repent from agreeing with it. Father, I know that You are good. Please tell me the truth that You want to give me in place of this lie.”

Write down the truth that Holy Spirit shows you so you can use it as a weapon each time Satan whispers that lie to you.

Nicky Heymans is an author of historical fiction who is known for drawing fresh life and inspiration out of familiar Bible stories. She would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your thoughts or ask questions by scrolling down to the bottom of this page and clicking on the 'contact' link, and she will get back to you.