Pulling the Weeds of Ungodly Beliefs
Pulling weeds recently in a neglected section of the backyard flower bed, I was amazed at how large some of the roots were to the dandelion plants that had managed to grow several feet tall. The main root went deep and was several inches across. Shaped similar to a carrot, it held on tenaciously to the ground in which it had been allowed to grow. Pulling those roots up took time, perseverance, and hard work. Thankfully, the soil was moist from a recent rainfall, which increased the ability to loosen the dirt surrounding the root, making it easier to get a firm grip on it in order to pull it up. Some of the other weeds had much smaller root systems and were easier to pull out of the flower bed. Several hours later, I had a nice section cleared and flowers planted. The problem with weeds, however, is that they like to come back. Even if it appears on the surface that all of them are gone, due to an extensive root system, they tend to crop right back up. Taking the time to maintain that section of the flower bed requires commitment. It requires taking the time to pull up the new weeds, while they are small, so that they do not have the opportunity to take a firm hold and crowd out the flowers I planted.
In my journey of walking through healing from difficult seasons of life and emotional wounds, I have learned that when we get hurt, we have a tendency to embrace negative beliefs about ourselves. We tell ourselves lies based on our perception of circumstances or how we have been treated in ungodly and hurtful ways. While these beliefs may appear as truth on the surface, they are in reality, false. These ungodly beliefs are in direct conflict with the truth of God’s Word. Similar to weeds, if these ungodly beliefs are allowed to grow in our hearts, they cloud our minds with deception, twisting our beliefs into a warped perspective of ourselves and others. They begin to fester like an untreated wound.
Pulling up these weeds of ungodly beliefs is a two-fold process. In order to pull up the weed of the ungodly belief, we must also have the hurt healed that allowed the ungodly belief to take root in the first place. Otherwise, it would be like slapping a band-aide on an infected wound. It might look fine on the outside, but unless that wound is cleaned out, it is going to continue to fester.
In order to prevent these ungodly beliefs from constantly taking root in our hearts and minds, we need to renew our minds daily with the truth of what God says about us, despite what we think the facts of the circumstances are surrounding the hurts we’ve experienced. We need to be aware of when these false beliefs pop up so that we can deal with them at their root before they have an opportunity to grow deep into our hearts. We must break the root of the ungodly belief at its source. There are several steps[1] in which this is accomplished:
- We must identify the ungodly belief and replace it with the truth of a godly belief.
- Confess the sin of having believed the ungodly belief and living in the lie of its deception.
- We must forgive those who either passed on the lie or contributed to the lie.
- We have to repent.
- We need to forgive ourselves.
- Renounce the ungodly belief and break its power over our minds and lives.
- We need to confess and claim the new godly belief.
These ungodly beliefs pop up in our thoughts in an attempt at subtly, often expressing themselves in the first-person: I’m a failure. I can never do anything right. Nobody cares about me. I have to be perfect in order to be loved. I’m not very smart. If I don’t perform perfectly, no one will accept me. No one loves me for who I really am.
Lies. Every. Single. One.
The truth is, I can do all things in Christ[2]. God cares so much about me that He promised to never leave me nor forsake me[3]. I am made perfect in Christ Jesus[4]. God gives me His wisdom[5]. I have been chosen by God and am accepted in the Beloved[6].
Digging up the roots of ungodly beliefs from the garden of my heart and mind is a continual process. By reminding myself of the truth, I am able to walk in more and more freedom and appreciate on an even greater level the work Christ accomplished through His death and the power of His resurrection to truly set me free from the lies that enemy tries to keep me shackled with.
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[1] These steps are based off of the material shared in a women’s Bible Study I attended, called Healing the Hurts. The particular section of material regarding ungodly beliefs is derived from Restoring the Foundations by Chester & Betty Kylstra.
[2] Phil. 4:13
[3] Deut. 31:6
[4] Heb. 10: 14
[5] Prov. 2:6
[6] Ps. 139, Eph. 1:4, Eph. 1:6