How do I distinguish God's Voice
from all the other voices in my head?
Part 2:
Recognizing God's Voice
from amongst the crowd.
Personally, I have found there to be 4 categories in which all the voices in my head fit into.
- The voice of the Natural Man
- The voice of the Enemy
- The voice of Reason
- The voice of God
If I can recognize which voices fall into which categories, I can better distinguish which voice is God's voice. Perhaps these observations will help:
1. The voice of the Natural Man.
There are many voices that fall into the category of the Natural Man, but the goal of all of them is to feed my flesh. I can easily pick out these worldly voices because they all try to appeal to my senses through one of the following:
- The lust of the eyes
- The lust of the flesh
- The pride of life
"For everything in the world -- the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life --
comes not from the Father, but from the world."
1 John 2:16
The lust of the eyes is what I look at.
"Wow! Take a look at that!"
The lust of the flesh is what I taste, touch, smell and hear.
"I wonder if that tastes as good as they say it does?"
"I bet it would feel good to..."
"That smell is so enticing. It reminds me of..."
"Did you hear what they were saying?"
The pride of life is all about thinking more of myself that I ought to.
"I am someone special... better than most!"
"I have something they don't!"
"I know more than they do!"
"I am looking darn good!"
Beware:
The voice of the Natural Man
is the voice of Temptation!
It doesn't seem like such a big deal up front, but following the voice of the Natural Man is often the first step in the wrong direction and can lead to spiritual demise! This is the voice of Temptation.
Temptation is the desire to do something wrong or unwise.
It's a strong wanting or wishing
for something to happen that's
not a part of God's plan for me.
Lending my ear to the voice of the Natural Man is like a fish taking the bait... it thinks it's found dinner, but low and behold it's been snagged, in for an unexpected struggle, and set up for major disappointment!
2. The voice of the Enemy.
The evil voice of the Enemy is perhaps the easiest to differentiate. It is the native tongue of Satan, himself. It is the language of Lies. The goal of these voices is to steal, kill and destroy. It is jam-packed with negativity and will result in defeat, depression, despair, distrust, and even death.
"The theif comes to steal, kill and destroy..."
John 10:10a
The enemy is out to rob you of a relationship with God.
"You don't really believe all that religious stuff, do you?"
"God isn't real. He's just for weak people!"
"See... where's your God now? I told you so!"
Satan will attempt to kill you in order to keep you from connecting with God.
"Your life is meaningless, so why bother to keep on living?"
"You'll never amount to anything, so why not just end it all now!"
"Nobody cares about you. Your better off dead!"
"Just try this drug... everybody else is doing it!"
Demonic spirits will shred you with lies and abusive words to keep you down.
"You're stupid!" "No one will ever love you!" "You're a joke!"
"You're fat!" "You're ugly!" "You're not good enough!"
"People are talking about you behind your back."
"They're laughing at you!" "Nobody cares about you!"
"You can't trust anyone!" "Your a failure!"
"It will never get better!" "You'll never amount to anything!"
Remember... these are lies from the pit of hell! This is what I often refer to as "The Birds." They can be relentless in their efforts. Sometimes they drop the craziest thoughts in my mind. I'm forever shooing them away. Don't let them nest in your hair! Take authority over this enemy in Jesus' Name and silence these voices immediately! Keep this in mind, in the second part of John 10:10, Jesus says...
"...but I have come that you might have life,
and have it to the full!"
John 10:10b
3. The voice of Reason.
Perhaps the most challenging of all the voices is the voice of Reason. That's because it makes sense. It's logical! When I'm listening to the voice of Reason, I often catch myself saying things like: "After looking at all my options, this one seems to me to make the most sense." The problem here is that I rarely think the way God thinks. What makes sense to me, may not be what God is saying. He may have another idea in mind. Isaiah 55:8-9 says this...
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the Lord.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."
I don't want Gail's thoughts --
I want to know GOD's thoughts!
4. The voice of God.
Most often, when all the other voices have been eliminated, there, sitting in the center of my heart and mind is God's voice, just waiting to be heard. Over the years I have found there to be three consistent characteristics that make His voice stand out amongst the others. His voice is always...
- Gentle and Caring
- In alignment with The Bible
- Anointed.
First, God's voice is never harsh, hurtful, hateful and abusive. It's the exact opporsite... Gentle and Caring! Even during times of correction, discipline or when He is presenting something other than what I was hoping for, I always seem to realize that He has my best interests at heart.
Second, His voice is ALWAYS in alignment with His Holy Word. Thank goodness for that! This is what makes it so easy to eliminate the other voices. What's being said just doesn't line up.
I hate to admit it, but there have been a few times in my life, when I've followed the voice of the Natural Man and tried to justify my works in the flesh by telling myself... "This is an exception to the rule." "My case is different." "God will understand and grant me grace." God will never force me to follow His voice. The choice is mine.
But deep down in my heart... I know exactly what He's saying... I just don't always want to acknowledge it, because it's not what I want to hear. Hmmm.
A key sign that I'm in that place is that I'm secretive about whatever it is that's questionable. I keep it to myself. Why? Because I know that if someone else knew, they'd call me out on it! If it's not under wraps, it's because the people I'm exposed to are in the same boat -- they have secrets of their own. We all tell each other that it's not a big deal, God still loves us, and that times have changed. Yes, God does still love us, and times have changed. Every day, the world is more accepting of ungodly behavior that feeds the flesh. But God hasn't changed and neither has His Word.
Far too often this is when the "Don't Judge Me!" card is played. The thing is, even if people don't judge me, and they shouldn't, God's voice is still there, lovingly calling me out from the ways of the world and persuading me to trust Him more. He has a plan for me -- a better way than what the world has to offer!
Lastly, God's word is anointed! When He speaks to me from The Bible, the words jump off the page at me. When He delivers his message to me through others, it's packed with power! When He takes a moment to whisper something directly to my heart... it's as if He's been put on an intercom. I can't miss it! His voice melts my soul! It brings me to my knees. It causes me to laugh, cry, shout and sing! I'm overwhelmed at the fact that God has spoken to me! He's taken time to meet me where I'm at and talk with me. How awesome is that? One thing I know for sure is this:
God's desire is for me to know His voice.
"My sheep listen to my voice,
I know them and they follow me."
John 10:27
With that, I'm kicking off my Red shoes and heading off to bed.
Tomorrow I'll talk more on the matter.
See you then!
Gail
