Can you tell the difference?

 

As I sat in the darkness of the small, cold and gloomy room, the enemy’s lies swirled around in my head so loudly that I was sure they were spoken aloud. They pointed out where I was, what areas I had failed in, how I had doubted the God who made me. They screamed worthlessness, pity, scorn and despair. The lies bound me in chains I couldn’t seem to break. The darkness enveloped me and pulled me down into a spiralling vortex of self-loathing, doubt, fear and utter hopelessness and pain. I couldn’t shut the voices out. They were never quiet. Even in my sleep it seemed I was tormented by them. The emotional rollercoaster I was riding had no end and the twists and turns were more than I could bear. I feared I would be thrown out at any time.

I cried along with the Psalmist, How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? Psalm 13:1-2

Do you ever hear the enemy’s whispers in your head? Quiet little lines like, “You’re worthless”, “You’re unlovable”, “You’re a failure”. Or maybe, at times, they’re not so quiet, maybe they shout, as mine did.

Did you know that you don’t have to listen to them? Did you know that you don’t have to listen to words of defeat and condemnation?

Can I remind you of a verse in the Bible that backs this up?

Romans 8:1 KJV - There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Once you are saved by grace, through faith (Ephesians 2:8,9), this salvation cannot be taken away and once God declares you righteous, no one can condemn you. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

When Jesus died on the cross, he took our condemnation upon himself, he took the punishment that was rightfully ours because of our sin and all who believe in him have eternal life and are no longer condemned by God. Because of our secure position in Christ, we have life spoken over us and we no longer need be tormented by the Devil’s lies.

We all know that the lies come, and that negative thoughts overwhelm us at times. But, when the thoughts of defeat and criticism and censure come, they don’t have to stay in our minds. We can reject them. We don’t have to listen to them.

Sometimes, we just sit there and let the enemy whisper or shout at us. We don’t do anything about it. We don’t stop our ears to his voice.

They are lies! They are not the truth! Once we have received God’s gift of salvation, we are overcomers with Christ.

1 John 4:4 KJV - Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Christ is the ultimate overcomer, and because we are joint heirs with him, we now have the strength to overcome. When the Devil speaks lies, we can reject them. Why? Because they are not the voice of our King. We are with Christ and because he overcomes, we overcome.

So, what I want to ask is this. Do you know the difference between the shepherd’s voice and the enemy’s voice?

In John’s gospel, we read some interesting things about our relationship with our Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

John 10:27 KJV - My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

When you know the shepherd’s voice, and you willingly obey and follow his voice, you will recognize when it isn’t his voice speaking and you will be able to reject the imposter.

The better we know the shepherd, and the more we listen to God, the better we will be at distinguishing His voice from the other voices in our heads and the less we’ll have to worry about listening to the wrong voice.

John 10:4-5 KJV - And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

Look what it says in these verses. The sheep follow the shepherd because they know his voice. The stranger’s voice they flee from.

Do you know why it is that you may not know the voice of God?

One of the reasons is because you are not in the Word enough to know God’s character and how he speaks and what he says about you.

God communicates to us through the Bible, his inspired Word, preserved down through the ages. It is through his Word that we are sanctified and guided. (John 17:17, Psalm 119:105)

The Word of God is the primary way God speaks to us. It is literally God-breathed, and we have to realise that the words of the Bible are the very words of God to us. The thoughts we have need to be brought to the Word of God for comparison and approval. We need to let the Bible be the judge of every thought that crosses our mind.

Do our thoughts line up with the Word of God? If they go against what scripture says, then they are not of God and must be rejected.

Are the thoughts and promptings in our minds confusing or vague? God is not the author of confusion, he brings peace. (1 Corinthians 14:33)

God never contradicts himself. If he says you are no longer under condemnation, then that word stands. If he says you are declared righteous, then you can hold to that promise. If he says you are loved, forgiven, cherished, his child, redeemed and forever wanted and an heir of God, then that is what you are!

But did you know that it’s not only through God’s Word that we can hear the voice of God?

Some people are wrongly taught that the ONLY way God communicates is through the literal written word. But although it is the primary way, it is not the only way.

When we become a believer, God gives us the Holy Spirit to live within us.

Romans 8:9 KJV - But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

John 14:16-17 KJV - And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

The Holy Spirit has many functions some of which are speaking, leading, guiding, helping, comforting and affirming God’s Word and applying it to your hearts. We are told that he is a revealer of truth.

John 16:13 KJV - Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

What a comfort it is to know that the Holy Spirit, dwelling in us, reveals the truth to our hearts and blatantly points out the lies that the enemy wants to plant in our thoughts and see us live out.

There is way too much to cover in just one post on the subject of the Holy Spirit, but my main takeaway is that the Word of God AND the Holy Spirit can speak to us.

They go hand in hand. If we want to recognize the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we need to be familiar with God’s Word. Studying the Word of God and being constantly in it, letting it soak into our hearts and minds, can help us to discern whether or not our thoughts and desires come from God or from Satan, the father of lies.

Reading and meditating on the Word of God, and staying in tune with the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives needs to be tied in with one more thing. Prayer.

Never downplay the power of prayer in the life of the Christian.

We are told in the book of James that if we lack wisdom, we can ask God for it. (James 1:5). And we don’t have to come timidly into his presence either. We can come boldly and expectantly. (Hebrews 4:16)

God will speak to you as you come to him in prayer. Listen for his voice. He is your shepherd. He knows you. You are his sheep, and you need to learn to listen to his voice. Get to know him through talking with him regularly and reading his Word.

The more you know the shepherd, the better you’ll know his voice. And the better you know and recognize his voice, the more you’ll be able to hear it over the din of the world and the lies of the enemy.

Just as a baby knows the sound of its mothers’ voice, because of the bond they share, you will begin to know the voice of your Heavenly Father because of the closeness of your relationship with him.  

Staying in tune with God’s will, confessing and turning from your sin, making prayer and Bible study a daily habit will allow you to recognize and hear the Shepherd and follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in your lives.

Don’t let the enemy condemn you. Don’t let him speak lies over you. Reject them and combat them with truth. Fight back against them with God’s Word and his promises. Speak truth over your life and let the Word of God wash over you, drowning out the harmful thoughts. You can, with God’s help, be an overcomer. And you can, in God’s strength, destroy the enemy’s attack.

He already knows he’s defeated, but you need to continually remind him of it by walking in close fellowship with God, obeying him, listening to his voice, responding to his perfect will and with as much determination that you can muster up, and through God’s enabling power, shout over the top of the enemy with great confidence, God’s unwavering and unfailing truth.

James 4:7 KJV - Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Are you listening to the Shepherd? Do you recognize his voice?

 

“It’s not what you go through that determines where you end up, 

it’s who you listen to.”