"For centuries people believed the world was flat."

A thought by Craig Groeschel from his book, Winning the War in Your Mind (p. 12). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

Do you believe that?

Craig says, "(Some still do. Don’t believe me? Google it. You’ll find there are 'Flat Earthers' today.) Because they believed the wrong idea, it impacted their lives as if it were true. People would not venture too far out in the ocean for fear they might sail off the edge. Why? Once again, a lie believed as truth will affect your life as if it were true."

He goes on, "Growing up, a lot of us were told that going swimming right after eating wasn’t safe. Our parents made us wait thirty minutes after a meal to get in the pool. The only problem is that it’s not dangerous to swim after eating. That was and is a lie. Right now you may be thinking, No, I’m pretty sure that’s true. But it isn’t! Yet we believed it, so the lie affected our lives as if it were true.

"Missing some swimming time isn’t a big deal, but what if you believe significant lies that have serious implications? What if you buy into the lie that you’ll never be good enough? Or that you made too many mistakes? Or that God doesn’t really care about you? Or that you’ll never be able to stop doing what you don’t want to do?"

He continues, ". . . a lie believed as truth will affect your life as if it were true."

Later he says, "How about you? What negative messages did you take away from your childhood?

"What unhealthy and destructive conclusions have you come to believe about yourself and your place in the world?

"Satan’s strategy to win the battle for your mind is getting you to believe lies. If you believe a lie, it will hold you back from doing what God’s calling you to do.

"The lie will keep you living in shame from the past, when God wants to set you free for a better future.

"The lie will keep you from living with joy and freedom and confine you to a less-than existence.

"When legendary magician Harry Houdini came into a town to do his show, he often went to the local jail, gathering a crowd of people along the way. To get buzz going about his upcoming performance, he asked the jailer to lock him in a cell. Time after time, jail after jail, town after town, Houdini escaped within minutes.

"But one jailer had heard that Houdini was coming, and the jailer was ready. When Houdini closed the cell door, the jailer put the key in the lock and secretly turned it in the wrong direction. He then removed the key, and everyone watched as Houdini struggled to escape—by unknowingly locking himself in repeatedly. Finally, in frustration, Houdini admitted he could not escape. The jailer then revealed his deception. Houdini had believed a lie, and the lie had held him captive."

Earlier, Craig said, "If you think you’re trapped, if you believe there’s a lock on the door, you’ve bought into a lie. And it is the lie, nothing else, that is holding you back. Yet if you identify that lie, then you can remove it. You can replace it with the truth and be free. Your liberation is a simple two-step process: Remove the lie. Replace it with truth."

So that is a great place to start, isn't it?

Yes, yes!