In Your Trials, Remember What Is True
January 16, 2023 • by Katie Faris
When three of my children were diagnosed with the same serious genetic condition in 2013, sorrow filled my heart. I wasn’t sure what to think, let alone what to pray. This wasn’t what I’d expected for my family. It wasn’t the “normal” childhood I’d imagined for my children.
Instead, there were new medications to administer, specialist appointments to schedule, and medical tests to perform. With each one, grief—our family’s uninvited guest—seemed to announce its presence more boldly in our home, making it clear that it was here to stay.
That tumultuous season turned into days which turned into months which turned into years. There were hospital stays and additional diagnoses. There were weepy days and nights of doubt. And one thing I learned during that time is that suffering doesn’t travel alone. So often, lies and temptations accompany it. Because of this, it’s of utmost importance that in our suffering, we remember what is true.
Your Hard Is Your Suffering
Maybe you’re single, and you want to be married. Maybe you just learned your mom has cancer. Maybe your husband has been unfaithful. Maybe your baby is in the NICU. Maybe you’re juggling multiple responsibilities and don’t know how to be “all in” with any of them. Whatever it is, your hard is your suffering. Christian writer Elisabeth Elliot’s definition sums it up well: “Suffering is having what you don’t want or wanting what you don’t have” (Suffering Is Never for Nothing).
Like a wounded animal, vulnerable to a predator’s attack, we’re more prone in our suffering to the enemy of our souls. As the apostle Peter tells us, our “adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). What better person to devour than one who has already been shot down, or one who already feels side-lined?
But God’s Word teaches us how to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Eph. 6:10). We must “put on the whole armor of God” if we are to “stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11), and it starts by fastening on “the belt of truth” (Eph. 6:14). Especially in our suffering, we need to learn to discern our adversary’s lies and speak God’s truth back to them.
“It’s of utmost importance that in our suffering, we remember what is true. ”
Discern the Lies
Even though it might feel like it at times, our battle isn’t ultimately “against flesh and blood”—our spouses, children, neighbors, co-workers, fellow church members, and friends—"but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). Keeping this in mind, as painful as our circumstances may be, they aren’t our main problem either. Sin is. As difficult as our trials may be, they aren’t our real enemy. The devil is. And he “has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44b).
That’s who our enemy is—a liar. His tactics go all the way back to Eden where the crafty serpent’s question led Eve to question God’s words, his character, his purposes, and his ways (Gen. 3:1). If our ancestral mother was prone to our adversary’s insidious attack, even before the fall and its painful consequences, how much more are we, especially in our afflictions?
Thankfully Jesus came and crushed the head of the serpent when he died for our sin and rose victorious from the grave. The devil’s always been kept in check by our sovereign and loving heavenly Father (read the story of Job), but we take comfort knowing his days of roaming are numbered, and his end is sure (Rev. 21:10). In the meantime, not only is God’s Word true and all his promises trustworthy, but Jesus is “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6, emphasis mine). As we abide in Jesus, we learn to speak truth to the enemy’s lies just as our Savior did when tempted in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-11).
“Even though it might feel like it at times, our battle isn’t ultimately “against flesh and blood.””
Remember What Is True
So how do we do this? I’d like to offer two practical ways to remember what is true and speak that truth to the lies confronting us.
1. Make a list of Bible verses.
It could be on your phone, on your fridge, or in a journal. But in your suffering, make a list. When a verse jumps off the page of your Bible, the Holy Spirit highlights it in a sermon, or a friend sends it in a text, copy it down. In those early weeks after my children’s diagnosis, there wasn’t much time for extended Bible study, but my go-to list of Bible verses brought great encouragement. Not only did those verses help me recall God’s promises in a theoretical way, but they reminded me of God’s active presence, meeting me right in the middle of my trial and not just on the other side of it.
2. Create a lie and truth chart.
This chart has three columns—lies, truths, and Scriptures. In the left-hand column, start a list of lies you’re tempted to believe about God’s words, his character, his purposes, and his ways in your suffering. Be specific. Then, in your center column, next to each of those lies, write what’s true about God and his relationship to you. Finally, in your right-hand column, write a Bible verse that supports each truth.
For example, maybe you’re tempted to believe that your suffering means God doesn’t really love you. In your lie column, you would write, “God doesn’t love me.” But that’s not true. God loved you enough to send Jesus to suffer and die on the cross. In your truth column, you might write, “God loves me more than I can possibly imagine.” There are so many Scriptures you could add to your last column to support this truth, but here are a few to consider:
Romans 5:8
Romans 8:37-39
Ephesians 3:14-19
Then, place your lie and truth chart in a place where you will see it often. (Mine is taped to my laundry room wall—you can see a PDF of mine here!).
Especially in trials, we can feel squeezed, or what the NIV calls “hard pressed on every side” (2 Cor. 4:8). Sometimes we struggle to breathe, let alone process all that’s going on in and around us. Yet it’s in these times that we should pay attention to any replaying thoughts and ask, “Are they true?” If not, we should bring them before the Lord and ask for his help to replace them with what’s true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable (Phil. 4:8). In this way, we “resist the devil” (1 Pet. 5:9) and “take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).
Sister, if you are believing lies and giving in to temptation, this doesn’t have to be the end of your story. Run to Jesus, confess your sin, and experience his forgiveness (1 John 1:9). Then hear his comforting words, “But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b).
Katie Faris is the author of God Is Still Good: Gospel Hope and Comfort for the Unexpected Sorrows of Motherhood (Crossway, 2023), He Will Be Enough: How God Takes You by the Hand Through Your Hardest Days (The Good Book Company, 2022), and Loving My Children: Embracing Biblical Motherhood (2015). A pastor’s wife and mother to five, Katie lives with her family in New Jersey where they enjoy day trips to the shore. Connect with Katie on Instagram, Facebook, or her blog.
MORE FROM JOURNEYWOMEN
IMPORTANT NOTE
Journeywomen articles are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select writers each week, articles shared on the Journeywomen website do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the authors or any other resources mentioned.
