Last night I had some horrible lies cris-cross through my mind. Lies that made me doubt myself, my friendships, my worth. Out of nowhere they crept up on me and struck me when my guard was down. Even though I knew they were lies being whispered into my tired mind, they bothered me at first.
I started to drown in my pool of pity, and under my quilt I felt oppressed. But it passed away when I recognized boldly in my mind that they were lies. Satan! Away with your lies!
I am worthy. I am loved. God, in all His glory, and for reasons I cannot fully understand, loves me so much He gave His son as a sacrifice on my behalf for sins I have committed and will commit. The same goes for you. Why would anyone do that for us? What did I ever do to deserve freedom from the bonds of death? Nothing. Which is why my wallowing lasts but a minute.
The opinions of people-- the cares of the world. They will all expire. They don't last. They are a wisp. A cloud set to dissipate.
But the eternal gifts that live in us matter. That is why we cannot let this world get us down. It is not what we were made for.
Dim as the borrow'd beams of moon and stars
To lonely, weary, wand'ring travellers
Is reason to the soul; and as on high
Those rolling fires discover but the sky,
Not light us here, so reason's glimmering ray
Was lent not to assure our doubtful way
But guide us upward to a better day.
From Religio Laici by John Dryden (around 1682)
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