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Which voice are you listening to?

There are many voices, all shouting to be heard in this day. It is impossible to listen to them all. We need to discipline our minds and hearts to focus on the voices that are connected to our spiritual DNA. There is the voice of God. His voice always falls in line with His written word. Any voice that tells you something that doesn’t fall in line with God’s word needs to be ignored! There is the voice of your purpose. This voice will help you to focus on the things that will help you to achieve what God called you to do. There is the voice of your flesh or emotions. This voice must be harnessed and submitted to the will of God, or else it will rule over you and only insist only on pleasure, comfort and safety. It is selfish and can be very petty. That is why Romans 12:2 says: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Our natural mind does not understand the things of God, so it must be trained and harnessed so that we can be useful and fruitful in the Kingdom of God. Finally, there is the voice of the devil. You can only discern this voice if you know God’s word. This voice only comes to kill, steal and destroy. Reject this voice immediately. This voice will even use half-truths to try to deceive you. Never entertain this voice as it will rob you of your purpose and destiny. Ok, it’s time to self-assess…..what voice are you listening to?

1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world”

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Here is where real strength and endurance come from!

In today’s world, most people try to avoid any aspect of suffering or pain. We want to live a “pain free” life. That’s very interesting, because for any real growth or maturity, we need to get out of our comfort level and endure what we perceive to be suffering and disappointments. We need to fail over and over until we learn how to do things correctly. It’s in the failures and disappointments that we develop discernment and understanding. The Apostle James said that he counted those who endure as blessed. In other words, it’s only when you have to endure something and overcome it, that you enter into the blessed state of an overcomer. James also said that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. He has a way of working things out for our good, even those things that we deem as failure, disappointment, rejection, unfairness, persecution, problems, overwhelming odds, etc. God is with you in each of these issues, and He will both teach you something while you are there, and He will show you the way out. David once said: “even though I go through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me” (Psalms 23). 

James 5:11 “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful”