May 2 - The Fruit of a lie

So I got depressed. It happens-particularly to me, as you probably have noticed. It took a day or two for me to recognize that I was depressed because I have bought into a lie. I can imagine you'll be rolling your eyes over this one, because it is the same old story: "God will not give me what I want."

I had my reasons for buying into the lie, of course. One was that circumstances look lousy, and the other was that I hadn't really held up my end of the bargain-I hadn't done a good job of waiting for the Lord. It is good to remember that when we've bought into a lie, we haven't been using all the facts available to us. Like, what do circumstances have to do with what the Lord will or won't do? And I had already made my worst mistakes in this situation before He promised me what He would do, and His promise was made in direct response to my concerns about this situation.

It is very possible indeed that you will look down your nose at me, because you have never been depressed and you cannot imagine ever being depressed. Don't get too pleased with yourself, though! Just because you've never been depressed doesn't mean you haven't bought into the lie!

Perhaps you've been responding to that particular lie by letting nothing stand in the way of you getting what you want for yourself and by yourself. Maybe you walk on everyone, and pull everyone else off the ladder so that you can get where you want to go. Maybe you use other people to get what you want.

It is as likely as not, however, that you would look askance at anyone who thought of responding in such a way. Your modus operandi is to manipulate using guilt trips and nagging. You never know a moment's rest, and you don't understand why no one likes you, because you are such a nice person. You're never mean or depressed

Or maybe you just give up and quit wanting anything. You aren't depressed, exactly, and you aren't mean or manipulative. Somehow you manage to rain on everyone's parade, though, because if you can't have it, you can't be happy about anyone else having it, either.

I so often find my own ways of reacting to the lie more acceptable than someone else's way, but the fact is, there is only one way to respond to a lie: chase it off with the truth. The truth is, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Period.

So I want to encourage you to get acquainted with your habitual reactionary style. Not so you can congratulate yourself for having a better one than your neighbor, but so that you can recognize when a lie is bearing fruit.

The entire truth will never make me depressed, because the entire truth includes God's goodness.

Remember that.

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