Your teenager runs down the hallway to her room. She slams the door, throws herself on her bed, and screams through the tears, “I’m all alone! No one cares about me! I wish I was never born!”  What do you as a parent do?  You do the only thing you can do; you fight the lies with the truth and eventually, the truth will overwhelm the lies.

Truth Is a Life Preserver  -  your struggles don’t go away.  Sadness, anxiety, or anger may still seek to pull you under, but truth is always buoyant.  So, what is true right now, you ask? God loves me.  Therefore…
I am not stupid - I have the mind of Christ.
I am not rejected - I am a child of God.
I am not a failure - I am a new creation in Jesus Christ.

God’s Word is true no matter what, this is why the apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:8, “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true… dwell on these things.”  So, when life turns sour - if your marriage feels more like a landmine than a bed of roses, if the doctor gives you bad news, your adult children are breaking your heart, if you’re enduring a season of suffering, if you just don’t know which decision to make, if you’re exhausted from present circumstances.  Wrap your spiritual arms around the Savior’s neck and cling to Him like a terrified toddler who doesn’t want to be dropped off at the church nursery.  There is buoyant truth in the Scriptures ready and waiting to keep you afloat.  Grab hold - there are things you can know.

I know God is good and kind and loving and faithful.  I know nothing happens that is not under His watchful eye.  I know that even if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, that God is for me - that God is my strength.  I know that even if life is falling apart, that God is in control.  Even if I have nothing, it’s still true that I have all I need in Christ.  We fight the lies by rehearsing the truth until the truth is stronger than the lies.  It’s so easy to get swept away in all the things that aren’t true.  Every time we consciously set our minds on things that are above instead of earthly things (Colossians 3:2), we invite God into the situation.  And when we invite God, we invite truth.  And when we invite truth, we invite trust.  And when we invite trust, we invite faith.  And when we invite faith, we invite surrender.  And when we invite surrender, we find Jesus and His peace.