Tired of Listening to the Voices in my Head
James 4:6 – But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
C’mon, fess up. You do it too.
You have a big decision to make and you have that internal conversation with yourself to try and figure out if you are doing the right thing.
Can I get an AMEN?
C.S. Lewis has said, “Pain insists on being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
He has also said, “It is in the process of being worshiped that God communicates His presence to men.”
Lately I have noticed a whole lot of different voices in my head.
There are the voices of the outside world. Those are the ones that are telling me that I need to be more successful, have a better house, eat better food, and drive a better car.
Next, there are the voices of the Christian world (to define this, these human beings who are just as fallible as myself who have the same voices going on in their heads). These voices are telling me that I need to get more accountability partners, do more Bible studies, get into more ministries, and expand my reach. It is also the same voice that tells me that I need to reach more people with my blog and write a book.
Third, there are the voices of our loved ones. Those are the ones that tell me I need to be a better parent, slow down so I can make more time for family, be more of a success (but not at the risk of family, of course), and to pay more attention to them.
Then there is the voice of God. This is the voice that says simply, “Give all of this to Me and let Me handle your burden.” This, of course, is the voice I listen to the least.
Finally, there is my own voice. This is the seemingly quiet voice that says things like, “You are an elder at church, you need to live up to a Christian standard” or “Why can’t I act more like Jesus?” or “I just don’t understand” or “When is it my turn to enjoy this life?” Of course this voice is completely and utterly selfish. It is the “me” voice.
Romans 8:14 – For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
With all of these voices in my head, and I assume many of them are in your head as well, it is no wonder that we as a society are sorely lacking in stability and love.
I have been trying to analyze these voices in my head more and I have come up with one surefire test to see if it is a voice we should be listening to.
The best way to determine if the voice in your head is one that you should listen to is to….give it the God test.
First, does what you are listening to bring glory to God? The voices in my head have a tendency of being “me” focused. “Why can’t I understand this?” “When is it MY turn to enjoy life?” There is nothing in there about God getting the glory.
One thing is painfully true when we attempt to live a life that is given to Christ, we will live a life that strives to put Christ first. If the voice in your head is giving you more “me” answers and less “God” answers then you are listening to the wrong voice.
Second, does the voice in your head line up to Scripture? If this voice in your head tells you to do something that goes against Scripture, then you are listening to an incorrect voice. Now, when I say “line up to Scripture,” I mean the whole story. If you are crushing on a woman who isn’t your wife, don’t just read about the part of the story in the Bible where David has the woman’s husband killed so he can fool around with her. Make sure you read THE WHOLE STORY in the Bible, not just the parts you want to read.
It is important that you use a systematic theological approach to this. In layman’s terms, systematic theology studies the Bible to synthesize and summarize what the Bible as a whole teaches about the topic we are looking into. Therefore, if the voice in your head is telling you to go have an affair and you look up the parts of the Bible where a saint screwed up and had an affair but you don’t put it together systematically with what all of the reactions of the saints are about affairs, then you are not lining the voice in your head up with Scripture properly. What does Jesus say about it? What about Paul?
So let’s recap. When the voices in your head are putting ideas in there, first see if those ideas and voices are bringing glory to God. Next, check systematically in Scripture to see if the voice in your head lines up the Christian worldview. If either of these are missing, then the voice in your head could simply be the voice of Satan, or worse yet, yourself without God.
John 10:27 – My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
boyradd 