Your wounds brought messages with them. Lots of messages. Somehow they all usually land in the same place. They had a similar theme. “You’re worthless.” “You’re not a woman.” “You’re too much … and not enough.” “You’re a disappointment.” “You are repulsive.” On and on they go. Because they were delivered with such pain, they felt true. They pierced our hearts, and they seemed so true. So we accepted the messages as fact. We embraced them as the verdict on us.
As we said earlier, the vows we made as children act like a deep-seated agreement with the messages of our wounds. “Fine. If that’s how it is, then that’s how it is. I’ll live my life in the following way …” The vows we made acted like a kind of covenant with the messages that came with our deep wounds. Those childhood vows are very dangerous things. We must renounce them. Before we are entirely convinced that they aren’t true, we must reject the messages of our wounds. It’s a way of unlocking the door to Jesus. Agreements lock the door from the inside. Renouncing the agreements unlocks the door to him.
Jesus, forgive me for embracing these lies. This is not what you have said of me. You said I am your beloved, your cherished one. I renounce the agreements I made with [here you name the specific messages you’ve been living with. You know what they are.] I renounce the agreements I’ve been making with these message all these years. Bring the truth here, oh Spirit of Truth. I reject these lies.
And that’s the memo by Stasie Eldredge.
*An excerpt from Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge*