Numbers don’t lie. They aren’t subjective. They’re pretty cut and dry. When you see a number, you can know exactly what it means. One means one. Two means two. One will never be two. Two will never be four.
Numbers are everywhere. On the scale. On our birthday cakes. In our checkbooks. And they’re always talking, aren’t they?
Numbers don’t lie. Except when they do. It all depends on what they’re trying to say. And they have a tendency to suck us right into their lies.
No, the actual numbers on the scale don’t lie. That number 1## on the scale staring back at me when I step on it is pretty accurate.
The numbers on that scale are lying, however, when they try to tell me I’m not beautiful because they aren’t smaller.
The number on my birthday cake is pretty accurate. Those 44 candles on my cake this year were exactly right. That’s how old I am.
That number on my birthday cake is lying when it tries to tell me that my self-worth decreases the bigger it gets.
That bank balance is pretty accurate (well, if I’m balancing it – LOL).
It is lying to me when I let it tell me that my value as a person goes down when my balance goes down.
So, really, numbers CAN and DO lie to us. All. The. Time. They’re always talking. And what they’re saying is not always true.
And sometimes the things they’re saying bombard our minds almost to the point of torment. To the point that we let it affect how we see ourselves. To the point that we let it hold us back from running towards our purpose. Towards our dreams.
What can we do about it?
Well, I’m glad you asked. We have a magnet on our refrigerator that says, “I cannot control the winds, but I can adjust my sails.”
I can’t control what thoughts pop into my head. What those numbers try to tell me. But I can control what happens to them once they pop into my head.
I can either dwell on it, or I can cast it down and replace it with 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)
Any thought that pops into our heads that is opposite of His Word needs to be taken captive. Held prisoner. MADE OBEDIENT to Christ.
We need to replace those lies with the truth.
The truth is I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Just as I am. The weight that I am. The size that I am. My beauty is not dependent on the number on the scale. And my self-worth does not go down as my age goes up.
The truth is that My God shall supply all of my needs. Period. No matter what my checkbook says. He is faithful.
My age, my weight, my checkbook balance – they don’t have the right to tell me who I am. To assign my value. To predict my future.
Only the Word of God has that right. What He has said about you is truth. It’s truer than what you feel and even at times what you think. And it has a lot to say about me.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well. (Psalm 139:14)
You are one of His works. You are wonderful!
For we are the product of His hand, heaven’s poetry etched on lives, created in the Anointed, Jesus, to accomplish the good works God arranged long ago. (Ephesians 2:10)
You are His poetry. His masterpiece. His best piece of artwork.
How beautiful is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty! (Psalm 84:1)
You are the temple of the Holy Spirit. You are beautiful!
Know this: my God will also fill every need you have according to His glorious riches in Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King. (Philippians 4:19)
God is your source. He can be trusted to provide for you.
You get to choose what you think about. You get to choose what defines you. So, let go of the lies. Don’t believe what the numbers are telling you. Replace those thoughts with the truth. And with joy…with purpose…with all the value He has given you, run towards your dream.