“Slut!” There was no mistaking what I had just been called. But it wasn’t my husband Garrett that called me a slut. And I didn’t call myself a slut. So, who was it?
It was about three months after I confessed my affair to Garrett and we had a really hard day with one another. I could feel the anger of all of the hurt and betrayal build up inside of him as we argued.
We took a little bit of time apart, sitting in our hurt for a while. Eventually, we worked to reconnect with one another which led us to be physically intimate. Physical intimacy was an area that God redeemed quickly after my confession as it had been broken for so long.
Yet, as we began to make love, I heard the accusation loud and clear. “Slut!” Again, Garrett didn’t say it. Even through all the feelings of hurt, anger, and betrayal, he had never, ever called me anything like that. It was clear to me that Satan, the accuser, was calling me names.
Garrett could tell that something was going on in my heart and that I was upset. We stopped making love and he held me and I just cried. I told him what had happened. He apologized that I was called that name and prayed for me. He whispered in my ear, “Angel. That’s the word I want you to hear, Angel.”
Satan is a big fat liar
Now, here’s the thing about Satan. EVERYTHING that comes out of his mouth is a lie, or him twisting and manipulating the truth to accomplish his evil. There is absolutely no truth in him. He will do everything in his power to convince you that your identity is anything other than a forgiven, loved, and cherished child of the King.
One of the biggest lies that I had believed for so long while being enslaved to the sin of my affair was, “This is just who I am”. My identity became adultress. Hmmm. I wonder where that thought came from…
“...He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44
In Matthew chapter 4, we even see him trying to manipulate Jesus himself in the desert by quoting scripture to him. Wow.
“Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Matthew 4:5-7
Now, I am not “special” in any way. Just as Satan accuses me, I know that he works tirelessly to accuse you as well. So what are we to do when the accusations come?
We must take our thoughts captive and hold them up to God’s truth
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5
Is the thought or accusation congruent with God’s Word? God’s Word is filled with truth about who you are in Christ, who God is, how Jesus has overcome, and how in Jesus, we are more than conquerors.
So, in looking at my example of being called a “slut”, I can turn to God’s Word and see what He says about me. If I have accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, who died once and for all to atone ALL of my sins, God calls me many things, but NEVER a slut. Here is the truth about who God says I am:
- I am forgiven
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
- I am clean and my sins have been washed away
“Our sins are washed away and we are made clean because Christ gave His own body as a gift to God. He did this once for all time.” Hebrews 10:10
- My sins have been removed from me as far as the east is from the west
“As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12
- I am delighted in (and friends, NOT because of what I do or do not do, but simply because I am God’s child!)
“For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Zephaniah 3:17
- I am holy and blameless in His sight
“Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” Colossians 1:22
- I am redeemed
“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.’” Isaiah 43:1
- I am God’s child
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name…” John 1:12
- I am loved and NOTHING can separate me from the love of God
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 35, 37-39
Another example – look to God’s Word
Let me give you another example. My mom has a friend who told her she has had times when a beautiful being or man stood there and talked with her. Let’s stop here. We must be on guard with an experience like this and also hold it up to God’s Word. Why?
Because we see in the Bible where Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:14
Additionally, Satan is referred to in scripture as “the god of this age”. He is actively lying to and deceiving as many people as he possibly can in this world.
“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:4
This friend further shared that God told her that “I love you but because of your past you’re not going to heaven.”
Can you imagine? This is the ultimate lie, keeping her not just from life here on earth experiencing God in His mercy and goodness, but from eternity with her loving Father in heaven because she believes that it is God himself telling her that her sins are too great to be forgiven.
How incredibly devastating! Yet, in viewing this thought/accusation in light of God’s Word, we see instance after instance where this statement is 100% FALSE. In addition to the above, the very essence of God’s Word is the account of God bringing us into a relationship with Him, not just here on earth, but for eternity. Her past sins are not too great for God to forgive. Jesus already paid the price for those sins. Here is the truth of God’s Word:
- God does not want anyone to perish
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
- We all have fallen short of the glory of God
“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:21-26
- Anyone who confesses with their mouth and believes in their heart will be saved
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
My mom’s friend is no exception to the truth of God’s Word. God loves her and longs to have a relationship with her. No matter what she has or hasn’t done.
Whose voice you choose to listen to in this life will make or break you. It will either hinder you from experiencing the fullness of a relationship with Christ or, if you choose to listen to God’s voice alone, it can usher you into the most beautiful, intimate, loving relationship beyond your wildest imagination.
You are special
One of my favorite books that highlight this idea is a children’s book by Max Lucado called, You Are Special.
Here is the short version of this sweet allegory There is a group of small wooden people called the Wemmicks, carved by their maker, Eli. The Wemmicks have boxes of gold stars and gray dot stickers that they put on other Wemmicks. If you were pretty or had great talent, someone might give you a gold star. If you weren’t very attractive, clumsy, or didn’t have a special talent, you would be given a gray sticker. By the end of a day, a Wemmick would be covered with the praise or disapproval of their fellow Wemmicks in the form of gold stars and gray dots.
However, there is one Wemmick, Lucia, who has no dots or stars. She would be given gold stars and gray dots, yet all of the stickers fell off. When the main character, Punchinello, asks her how she has no stickers, she replies, “It’s easy. Every day I go visit Eli, the woodcarver.”
So, Punchinello goes to visit Eli to ask him why the stickers don’t stick to Lucia:
The maker spoke softly. “Because she has decided that what I think is more important than what others think. The stickers only stick if you let them.”
“What?”
“The stickers only stick if they matter to you. The more you trust my love, the less you care about the stickers.”
“I’m not sure I understand.”
Eli smiled. “You will, but it will take some time. For now, come and see me every day and let me remind you how much I care.”
Eli reiterates to Punchinello that he is special because he made him and all that matters is what he thinks.
What if we rejected the lies of the enemy and replaced them with God’s truth? What about the lies that others have told you that don’t align with God’s truth? What would life look like if we were to focus on the voice of the One who made us? Who calls us His own and His beloved? Who knows us intimately and delights in us? Who knows the number of hairs on our heads and moved heaven and earth to create us and be with us?
- We would see the stickers fall.
- We would live in the freedom and joy we were created to live in.
- We would have peace that passes all understanding.
- We would KNOW, in the deepest parts of our hearts, our true identity in Christ.
- We would be in awe of who Jesus is and fall to our knees in worship!
Praying that you will live in the truth of who God says you are!
In Grace & Truth,
Brenna ♥
P.S. Combat Satan’s lies and accusations with God’s truth in who He says you are!
