I knew until i focused my mind on truth, I would never be free from the lies.

FIX THESE WORDS OF MINE IN YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS. -DEUTERONOMY 11:18A

“Who will come?  

Who will come? 

Who will come to my monkey party?” 

This song has been on repeat in my mind for the last I don’t how many weeks. I recently took my kiddos to the zoo, punched “zoo playlist” into Spotify, and this bad boy started to play. My kids love it. It’s catchy. And now? It is stuck in my brain.  

I’m 100% sure you’ve had a catchy lyric stuck in your head before, a little phrase on repeat, bouncing around in your head. Now, I am no expert on the Bible, memory, or psychology. I’m only an expert of my own experience, but here’s what I can tell you about words…  

The words I put in my head tend to get sticky in there.  

Unlike the zoo song, however, words spoken to me by loved ones, people in authority over me, media, influencers, pop culture, and even the enemy himself do more than bop around in my head. I often give them a power over me to direct my thoughts, drive my heart’s emotions, and guide my actions. Negative words, messages that promote fear and division, and lies at times cloud my entire head space. I’ve even given good words, words spoken to me in love, the power to do harmful things. As a perfectionist and an achiever, words of encouragement and celebration of my achievements often lead to a pressure to perform and a fear of failure.     

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So what in the world are we to do? We’re bombarded with words. 

Many of you have read on our devos or heard on the podcast why Dwell began. The short of it is, I went through a really hard season where my head was filled with a bunch of lies, lies that gave me a lot of anxiety.* The lies were stickier and deeper in my brain than the truth was. And there was no real quick fix. “Here, memorize these verses about fear and just stop thinking about the other stuff” wasn’t helpful. Even so, I knew I had to start somewhere. I knew I needed the truth in there working against the lies. I needed words that would free me and give me life. And I knew until I focused my mind on truth, I would never be free from the lies. 

And so, I went to my Bible to get God’s word in my head. I went to it again. And again. And again. I started memorizing verses. Even when the lies were loud (and they were loud), I had another voice in there quietly at first, but consistently, speaking a better word. So, I kept on going. I kept putting God’s words into my head. And his words kept getting louder and stronger in me. Even when my heart wasn’t yet believing all the truth, I was fixing his words in my mind. And after a year, a whole, full-on year, the truth finally was stickier than the lie. 

It was a painful, fruitful time, like grapes being crushed in a wine press. And what flowed out was a rich love and reliance on what God says about me through his words written in the bible.  

Now, I know this idea of memorizing God’s word is for the old-school church ladies, the pastors, the super-churchy people and the youth group kids. Wrong. It is for you. If you were my best friend, and if I were looking into your eyes, and could see your struggles, and know you fully, and I could only give you ONE thing, the ONE thing I would give you is God’s Word. There is more power and love and truth in one verse than in a thousand other words. 

God says this about his Word: “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 

His word is life. 

If you don’t know where to start, start here. Screenshot these two images below. One for your lockscreen and one for your home screen His word will not return empty. It will bring life. And, I’m so grateful to give you, if nothing else, this one piece of God’s word. It is my greatest treasure. 

Thanks for showing up here. I really do love you all. And we at Dwell are always praying for you.

Sincerely, 

Vera 

*I always want to say this whenever I mention anxiety. If you are in a hard place and can’t get out, it is always, always, always okay and even good to seek professional help. It may be the right next step for you.

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