May, 2003 "Whose Voice Is It?"

Have you ever asked yourself that question? That is a very wise thing to do, and whether we are mature Christians or new believers, we need to be able to distinguish the source of the thoughts and input we receive into our lives.

Let me explain what I mean when I say “voice.” I am referring to the sometimes subtle or loud thoughts that come into our head, words or pictures, or your own voice speaking words to yourself in your head that have been placed there by your own mind, God or Satan. I do not necessarily mean hearing audible voices through your physical ears, though the Bible is clear that this can happen as well. I mean those conversations we all carry on in our mind. It is a good thing to reflect on this. “Who are we conversing with and whose thoughts are we following?”

The Lord promises in His word to speak to us, but are we tuned to the right channel? Are we sure when we hear something or sense it in our mind that it is God’s voice and leading? How can we know?

It seems like the bigger the issue or decision we are making, the more we have uncertainty in us as we seek the Lord and pray. And if there are strong emotions attached to it, we have to press in even harder to close out those interfering thought and voices so we can hear God clearly.

I am currently walking through some very major life-changes right now and it is imperative for me to know God and hear His voice. My husband has filed for divorce after 31 years of marriage. This is causing me to consider such issues as where to live and what income and job to pursue. I am seeking God for healing in my heart and for His direction in confessing my own sins and receiving forgiveness. I am asking Him to lead me in forgiving my husband and the other woman he is involved with.

As you can imagine, I am being bombarded by many voices. But I cling to God’s promise in John 10, where He says that if I am His sheep (and I am) that I will hear and know His voice and follow Him. Our God is well able to lead us in the paths of righteousness (Psalm 23) and to guide our steps – as long as we are not trusting in ourself but leaning upon Him (Proverbs 3:5-6).

I have been doing a wonderful Bible Study called The Way of Agape by Chuck and Nancy Missler (www.khouse.org). It just so happens (don’t you love those divine happenings?) that our lesson this past week included some very good information and scriptures on distinguishing the different “voices” that try and influence our thinking and actions.

No matter what decisions we may be in the midst of considering – whether great or small – we all need to have some guidelines to follow.

This point was really brought to my awareness by one of our L.O.V.E. Club members who wrote to me recently with a question about this very subject. She was really needing to know if this angry, condemning voice that was pointing out her failures was really God. The things she heard were part truth but the feeling she was left with was not one of peace, but of condemnation and shame. I shared with her some of these principles so that she could indeed see that she was not hearing from God at that moment.

So, how can we tell the difference between God’s voice, Satan’s voice and our own?

God’s Voice

The Bible talks about the power of God’s voice. He actually spoke the worlds into existence by His voice and with His Word. (Genesis 1)

His voice is thunderous.

2 Samuel 22
13 Out of the brightness of his presence
bolts of lightning blazed forth.
14 The LORD thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot arrows and scattered the enemies ,
bolts of lightning and routed them

Psalm 29
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of his [1] holiness.

3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
Sirion [2] like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD strikes
with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the desert;
the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD twists the oaks [3]
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"

10 The LORD sits [4] enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
11 The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.

The children of Israel were so afraid, they begged God to speak to Moses and not directly to them (Exodus 20:18-29) What a shame to reject a relationship with Almighty God in which we can hear His voice and have communication with Him. I pray you are open to His voice – even if it is thunderous.

His voice is a still, small voice.

1 Kings 19
11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks 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:
12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah

Isaiah 30
21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

God’s promptings often come in the quietness of our heart as we take time to commune with Him. His voice brings peace and always encourages us to draw closer to Him. Even when the Holy Spirit brings conviction of sin, He does it in a redemptive way to cause us to repent, be forgiven, and turn back to God. He is usually very specific about the issue and most often does not rehash other sins and failures of the same nature that He has already dealt with us about.

God’s voice will always be in agreement with the Bible, His written word. This is critical. And of course, it means that we must know what His word says in order to check the voice or thought against the Bible.

Satan’s Voice

Satan’s voice is usually loud, urgent and demanding. It causes confusion, unrest and doubt. He likes to condemn us and accuse us and cause us to believe lies about ourselves and about God.

As we see him in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3, we can get an idea of the tactics he uses. He tried to get Eve to doubt God, to disobey God’s word, to trust in herself and not God and to follow her own desires of the moment.

Satan uses all the hurts and rejections of our past and the negative emotions we have held onto, instead of releasing them to God, to build a platform of influence in our lives. That is why it is so important to be continually cleansed in our hearts. Otherwise these places become strongholds of the enemy giving him power to sway our thoughts and emotions, which then affect our decisions and actions.

Satan’s plan is to destroy us, in order to take revenge on God. He even tempted Jesus in the wilderness and thought he had destroyed Jesus on the Cross. But glory to God, that was all part of God’s plan for our redemption. Jesus paid the price and won the victory and was resurrected and is now seated at the right hand of God making intercession for us. (Hebrews 7:25)

One of Satan’s tactics is to use part of the truth.

Luke 4
9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:
10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:
11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

We see in this passage how Satan even quoted scripture to Jesus, but only used part of the verse and took it out of context. So this points out again how important it is to know the Word. (Psalm 119:11)

So when the enemy accuses you of wrongdoing, just say, “Yes, I sinned but I have gone to God for forgiveness, and He has cleansed me from my unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

James 4
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded.

It is really important to be single-minded (i.e. to be of one mind with the Lord) in order to stand against the enemy.

Our Own Voice and Wild Imaginations

The third voice we have to discern is our own. Are you your own worst enemy thgough the things you say to yourself?

We can spend time imagining and fantasizing which can prompt dissatisfaction with today. We can center on figuring things out by dwelling on the past and by trying to understand what went wrong instead of dwelling on the truth of God about how to proceed now. Entertaining thoughts of “how it used to be” or “how it could have been” quickly pull us down into the pits.

It is important to catch those negative thoughts before you begin to re-run that video in your brain. And a good check point is the “me” check. Am I dwelling on me, myself and I – poor me, why me, how could this have happened to me….?

Remember, we are only responsible for our own sin. And God has a “system” for dealing with it so that we can be free. We confess it, make reparation and restitution where possible and move on with God, forgetting those things which are behind. (Philippians 3:13)

If I ever start feeling totally disqualified or depressed because of my sins and failures of the past, I just remind myself of Moses (a murderer), David (an adulterer and murderer) or Paul (who went about killing Christians in the name of religion and God). If God can love, forgive, and use them, He can me (and you) too.

So beware of your own thought and lusts and desires that draw you away from God.

James 1
13When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

As you see from James, it can easily lead you to death. And Satan the enemy of our souls, is quite good at working together with our own thoughts and imaginations to destroy us and draw us away from God. That is why we are instructed, as part of our warfare, to take every thought captive.

2 Corinthians 10
5We 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.

Knowing all of this is well and good and very necessary, but what it comes down to as the bottom line is this – we have to make a choice. Who will we follow? Who will we obey? These moment by moment decisions and choices are what make up our faith walk as Christians. We must make faith choices and then put our feet into action to follow our choices.

Deuteronomy 30
19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

I pray that your choices are God’s choices for your life. I pray that you choose life every minute of every day. I pray the blessings of God upon you – the blessings of life and love and many years of prosperity in your heart and in your land.

God’s promise to you is “You will hear my voice as we walk together on the highways and byways of life…I will be with you and I am in you…Listen to me – we are one.”

We thank you, Lord, for Your promise. We say yes to You and to Your voice. Give us ears to hear what the Spirit is saying. Amen.

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