Whose Voice is that?

The following is a devotional I wrote (and just came across again) about 15 years ago. As much as I hate to admit it – I still have to wrestle through this issue. Maybe you do too. Perhaps you don’t get tripped up with the same lie, maybe the lie you hear, and fall for, is completely different. Whatever the case – listen closely … whose voice are YOU hearing?

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.  

God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

John 10:27   NASB ~ 1 john 4:1 NASB ~ 1 Corinthians 14:33 NASB

Sometimes, as I pray for my family, I inwardly hear, “You should spend time praying for the nations or the president or your friend who’s sick”, so I shift my prayer focus and then I hear, “You haven’t spent any time in the Word today, what makes you think you can pray effectively if you haven’t listened for God’s voice?” Later in the day, I’ll grab a cup of coffee, dig into some office work and then hear, “You really should be helping the kids with their homeschooling, that’s much more important.” Pushing myself away from the computer, I go help with math or review a spelling assignment and then I hear, “Some Mom you are, your teenage kids can’t even get their school work done without you sitting right beside them.” By this time I am completely worn out and feel like a complete failure.

Alright, no laughing! Sure, it’s easy to see the cycle of craziness now, but not so simple when you’re in the midst of it!

While you may not fall for this particular ploy of the enemy, I would bet there are others that trip you up. Does he whisper to you, “A real Christian wouldn’t do that”? Perhaps he tells you, “You haven’t prayed long enough, read the Bible enough or ____________ enough to be of use to God”? Maybe you hear the flip side of that lie, “God doesn’t really expect me to__________, that’s for “super spiritual” people.

See what I mean? It’s not that easy to spot when you’re in the midst of it.

Why do we fall for such lies? Speaking for myself, it happens when I don’t take the time to discern the voice I’m listening to. if I did, I would recall that the Holy Spirit gently leads, corrects and instructs, He doesn’t coerce or criticize, or cause me to feel driven. Ever. Criticism and coercion is the M.O. of our enemy, not our Shepherd.

Eventually I realized that the “voice” I was allowing to guide me wasn’t the Holy Spirit or even my conscience – it was the enemy. I had permitted myself to be pulled in every direction and not only lost my peace in the process, but didn’t accomplish what God really wanted to accomplish through me that day.

Okay, I guess you can laugh now!

“Readers are advised to remember the devil is a liar.”

C.S. Lewis

Father, Please give me the ability to distinguish Your Holy Spirit’s voice from the clamor of the enemy. Enable me to quickly spot the ploys of Satan that get me off course and into confusion.  I appreciate so much that I can be real with my needs and frailties, knowing You will accept my heartfelt cry of brokenness. Thank You, Jesus.

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

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