On occasion, a question like the following overshadows my
thinking. “From where are the voices
coming?” Three voices can be speaking concurrently
to our subconscious mind at any given moment—God, Satan, and self. It is difficult at times to distinguish one
from the other.
God’s voice may be quiet and subdued; whereas, Satan, too, can be
subtle and inconspicuous. The battle
with self is often laced together with God’s voice and Satan’s lies, especially
when we want something that we are trying to acquire by reason of
justification.
I am not the only person that struggles with
thoughts that saturate the mind. I
believe that most everyone finds it difficult knowing who’s who when listening
to the voices in their head. The all
important question is: “Do I care which
voice I listen to?”
The answer to the above question is all encompassing. It zeros in on whether a person is walking
with God or strolling down life’s highway according to their own self-will,
which is dictated by greed, covetousness, and a host of other materialistic
games that people play.
If a person is living to serve God rather than their own selfish
desires, the One they hear speaking is God, because their spirit is in tune
with the Spirit of God. This is called,
“Walking in the Spirit.” It is like a
radio dial that’s tuned to the frequency of a favorite broadcasting station.
When my father-in-law was alive he shared this thought with
people. “When a person surrenders their
life to Jesus they are in the will of God, but finding His direction takes
prayer and supplication each day.”
Dad, as I called him, was an honorable, upright man with integrity and
high, moral values. His principled character
spoke for itself; having wisdom and good judgment. Dad was a Godly man; sensitive to God’s
direction, because he walked in the Spirit.
(Psalm 37:23-24), “The steps of a
good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.” vs.24 “Though he fall, he shall not be
utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.”
Why then is it difficult to determine if it is God, Satan, or self that
is speaking? When people pray, “Not my
will but Yours be done,” they are trusting God to close doors that He does not
want them to step through and open those that are beneficial to their spiritual
growth and needs being met. On the flip-side, anyone that lives with an attitude “My way or the highway,” usually
steps blindly into another pitfall.
I have witnessed, first hand, God protecting my wife and me more than
once; keeping us from certain things that we could not understand at the time
why He closed doors, but later, when looking back, we saw the providence of
God shielding us from wrong decisions that we were contemplating.
We always include God in our decision-making. “Not my will, but Yours be done” has always
been our prayer.
No-one can see around a corner or know what a day may bring, but God
does. He is omniscient (all knowing). There is no other power on earth or in the
firmament above that can exceed or come close to God’s power. He is omnipotent (all powerful)—‘He is’ the
‘I Am’.
God’s ways are perfect and far beyond our understanding. He has all things in control and nothing
takes Him by surprise.
(Isaiah 55:8), “For My thoughts
are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord.” vs.9 “For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your
thoughts.”
When listening and trying to differentiate God’s voice from other
voices that we hear, it is not always the thundering voice that we expect to
resonate, but may possibly be the quiet, still, unsuspecting voice of a friend,
passing acquaintance, or church pastor that gives us direction.
God uses different methods to communicate which route to take, while
imparting peace to our mind at the same time.
He may use the obvious, predictable means to direct us, or the not so
obvious. He even used a donkey to provide
awareness to a person one time. The
complete story is recorded in (Numbers
22:22-41) in the Bible.
(Numbers 22:28), “Then the Lord
opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam; ‘What have I done to
you, that you have struck me these three times?’ ”
God can choose animated exuberance as a means of getting our attention
or a still, small voice. He knows best
what gets the job done—He is God Almighty!
(Revelation 14:2), “And I heard a
voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud
thunder…”
God’s Revelation to Elijah: (1 Kings 19:11-12), “Then He said, ‘Go out,
and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’
And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into
the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the lord was
not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the
earthquake;” vs.12 “and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in
the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.”
When seeking God’s direction, as my father-in-law pointed out, we must
remain sensitive and perceptive to Gods voice.
Whom or what He chooses to deliver the message is up to Him. This is not to say that every “super
spiritual” Believer that comes our way possesses the word that God has for you
or me; though they mean well. Our spirit
will bear witness as to the validity of such messages.
The depth of our spiritual insight, both sight and hearing is dependent
upon Godly discernment, which includes good judgment that’s filled with wisdom.
Satan’s focus is on the visual and audio input that we receive—the eye
and ear gates. Sleazy magazines that are
filled with sexually explicit pictures and pornography websites are
ungodly and shameful. Popular songs with
lyrics that originated in the cesspool of iniquity, and filthy jokes at work
and the gym are all linked with the devil’s scheme to distort and camouflage
what voice we listen to.
Godliness takes a stand against Satan’s efforts to blind and deafen
Christians. “The Whole Armor of God” (Ephesians 6:10-18) is our defense
against the wiles and trickery of the devil.
When it is obvious that Satan is speaking to our mind, (and it will be
obvious to “Spirit filled” Christians), we will dispel Satan’s attempts to
deceive us, while resisting his impudence.
We are protected against his antics, because of the whole armor of God
that surrounds us. The Holy Spirit
enables us to hear God’s voice and squelch the devil’s efforts to manipulate
our thinking. It pays to walk in the
Spirit.
A thin line exists when trying to recognize God’s voice whilst we,
ourselves are speaking loudly. Both
voices run parallel and close together.
Correct discernment requires having the mind of Christ, which perpetuates
a person’s inner stamina to take the right turn, at the right time, onto the
right road, to achieve the right destination—heaven.
Written by,
Papa Boyd
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