The Voices in Your Head

Before I begin, I would like to preface this post with stating that this article is not going to speak about the voices heard from those with mental illness diagnoses within the mental health community. The voices I will be talking about and referencing come from the fallen world, from the enemy who plants them there for us to doubt our Creator God. Those are the voices we ALL have inside our minds and those are the voices I will be speaking about below. At some point, I will speak about Mental Illness as I am lead to it, as it has been laid on my heart in the most recent months. Until the Lord completely readies me, however, I will travel where He leads me now.

The Bible clearly teaches us that God speaks through the Scriptures and through reading, studying and internalizing the fullness of its teachings, we can encounter God and hear His voice speaking to us. 2 Timothy 3: 16, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness," and in Deuteronomy 8:3, "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord." So, with a strong foundation of what the Scriptures teach, the Bible tells us that we can have free access to the voice of God on a regular, consistent basis. God speaks to each of us through a variety of ways, through a variety of pitches in His tone, but we need only to position and posture ourselves to receive Him fully. To some, this is extremely hard to do, while to others, it comes a little easier.

You see, not only does God speak to us, but so does the enemy of our souls, Satan. He is also trying endlessly, tirelessly and hurriedly to infiltrate our minds and hearts. There are some people out there, non-believers and even some believers alike, find believing in Satan to be a stretch. But if you hold to the God-centered, God-breathed inerrant Word of the Bible, you cannot separate them, because if you believe in our Creator God, then you KNOW there is His rebellious fallen angel, Satan. These two voices are constantly vying for our attention. They are extremely different although due to the fallen nature of humankind, it sometimes becomes a difficult task in discerning the two. So how, then, can we discern whether we are hearing from God, or from His mocker, Satan? Below is a chart that I found to help you start to discern the difference between the two. It is by no means all-inclusive, but it's a good place to start.

With those four comparison points between the Satan's voice and God's voice, I'm going to give you a few examples for each before moving on.
A) Fear and Frenzy - Satan's Voice/Calm and Comfort - God's Voice:
I John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." Fear often leads us to panic, doubt, and to exhibit physical symptoms up to, and including, paralysis. When we are experiencing a lot of irrational fear or feel the pressure to quickly jump into action as a result of that fear, it's usually Satan. Rational and cautionary "fear" is NOT included in this as we have been given a "fight or flight" type of imminent danger signal inside to warn us of impending doom or danger. That is totally normal. It's RATIONAL. Satan would love nothing more than to drive you by fear. On the other hand, the calming, soothing voice of the Father brings comfort and calm. His desire for you and your life is good, and He leads and guides rather than than pressures and pushes you into the decisions that you have to make.
Satan says:
1) "Oh I just know if I go to the doctor, they are going to find cancer and I'm going to die."
2) "There's no way I can take that kind of a risk in my situation. What if it doesn't work out and I fail? The pain of failure will be too much for me to bear."
3) "I know my enemies are trying to destroy me! I'm so afraid to listen to them because they're trying to bring me down."
God Says:
1) "I know the very hairs on your head, you can trust Me with your health. I am the Healer."
2) "Follow me, wherever I lead. I hold you securely in My hand and I will care for you. What you do in My Name will be successful."
3) "Love your neighbor, especially those you consider your enemy. If I am for you, who can be against you?"
B) Confusion and Coercion - Satan's Voice/Clarity and Direction -  God's Voice:
Satan is the Father of Lies and would like nothing more than to cloud your mind with chaos and confusion so that you can't move forward with your life, getting stuck in a perpetual motion of indecision and turmoil within. He doesn't want you to make sound decisions that are prayerful, decisive or clear. God’s voice will ALWAYS bring clarity and direction in any situation. However, we must also remember that when it comes to hearing the voice of God, our Faith must be exercised. For us to exercise faith simply means that we may not have all the information, all the certainty, all the answers, but we focus on God not our feelings or circumstances. Feelings are fleeting and they change constantly. Circumstances change just as well so neither of those things should we give too much stock to and remain faithful in our exercising of Faith in Jesus Christ. Satan throws doubt on the clarity of God that has been spoken, but when we focus on God and His word, we can still move forward looking to our leader Jesus.
Satan says:
1) "Are you sure you want to quit your job and pursue unrealistic dreams without knowing what is ahead of you? Do you REALLY want to risk it all?"
2) "Are you sure you don’t want to live with your boyfriend/girlfriend? You’ll save money, have companionship and God won’t care since it's helping you out."
3) "Can you really trust God?"
God Says:
1) "Pursue me, and you’ll find clarity in your destiny."
2) "Put my kingdom and my ways first, put Me above all else in obeying my Word and I’ll reward your obedience."
3) "Put your trust only in me, and you’ll see me come through. Trust in me with all of your heart."
C) Condemnation and Discouragement - Satan's Voice/Forgiveness and Encouragement - God's Voice:
So often, people feel that God is angry with them or punishing them or turned His back on them. They have an intense sense of guilt, condemnation and shame that they attribute to God because they don't know Him. But I want to make sure that everyone knows that God NEVER uses guilt and shame to motivate any of His children in His Kingdom. I've written a very popular post that can be found here called, "Conviction or Condemnation - Knowing the Difference." If you are new to this site, please take a few minutes to read it as it contains clear points of the differences of the two and who is behind each of them! As Christ-followers, Jesus has taken on our guilt and shame so that we are no longer under condemnation. He paid our sin debt in FULL so we wouldn't be CONDEMNED but we are new Creations in Christ! Jesus offers us forgiveness and then becomes our biggest cheerleader and that, my dear readers, is the best we could ever dream for! When condemnation comes our way, it isn't God! It is our adversary, the devil.
Satan Says:
1) "You can never escape your past. It will always be there to haunt your every hour! You can't run from it because it's always there."
2) "You are what you do, so when you fail you are nothing but a failure."
3) "You aren't worthy of love. Nobody will EVER love you!"
God Says:
1) "Your past does not define you nor should you live there! My love for you defines you and I gave you the present and the future!"
2) "You are covered in my Grace, through Jesus Christ you are fully and completely accepted! You are not a failure in me!"
3) "I love you! I will never leave you nor will I forsake you! You have been made worthy through my creation of you! I will love you through eternity!"
D) Stress and Worry - Satan's Voice/Peace and Security - God's Voice:
The enemy of our souls knows exactly what our pressure points are and our weaknesses. He knows ONLY what has been tried and true in the PAST. So when sees you entering into that "zone" he will be sure to be applying all kinds of pressure in your life to cause you much worry and stress! As we all know, it’s pretty easy to get caught up in the stress and worry of a situation when it smacks us in the face. When we do get caught up in it, there is a human tendency to lean into it which worsens the situation. That's the enemy playing havoc with you because he knows what triggers us. Instead, God’s voice will always bring us peace and security. His voice will speak peace into the most difficult of situations and calm our spirits. His voice provides our security like we've never known existed. So, when we learn to read and understand the Scriptures the way they are meant to be understood, the voice of the enemy no longer has power over us! He no longer has the power to cause us undue anxiety and worry. That is the true voice of your heavenly Father!
Satan Says:
1) "You’re boss isn't happy with you, you might lose your job because you’re worthless as a person and employee."
2) "Your kids are failing in school, acting up terribly in public and getting into a lot of trouble. That's a direct reflection on you as a person and a parent."
3) "You spent way too much this month on frivolous things. You aren't going to make it financially and your bills won't get paid! How careless!"
God Says:
1) "Don’t worry about nothing, but pray in everything and I will fill you with otherworldly peace and I will take care of all of your needs."
2) "Love your kids right where they are at, don’t worry about what others think. Do what I have commanded you to do and love them, teach them and guide them. You are a reflection of Me."
3) "I’ll provide for you if you mess up and I will teach you to be a better steward of what I’ve given to you!"

His Voice to Your Spirit!

There is a HUGE difference between the wisdom of God and the lies of Satan. If you can't hear God's voice though, then it might be a bit harder to discern those differences as they can be a matter of just one word. God will LEAD you to heaven, but Satan will TAKE you to hell. The words they speak will be very different. God will encourage and Satan will deceive. If you don't know the voice of God, you really should wonder what will happen when Satan whispers in your ear. If Satan came upon Jesus to tempt Him, I clearly realize that he's going to come against every single person, especially Christians. In Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus had Satan whisper in His ear, but because of His close, personal relationship with God the Father, He was able to withstand the lies. Satan tempted Him three times and every single time, Jesus used the Word of God against him. After the third temptation, Satan knew he couldn't beat Jesus and that he was defeated, so.… "the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him." I've said before, he already has the unbelievers so there's not much work for him to do. But for those of us who are born-again, Christ believers and Christ followers, he wants us to fall so far away from Jesus that he will go to great lengths to do so! If we don't know God’s Word, so that we are able to identify God’s voice, then we are assuredly going to fall victim to the lies of Satan. No question about it!

Now we've all have voices from our pasts, from our failures, from our experiences and from our trauma that each of us has had to endure to some degree or another. Those voices can sometime "talk" to us in the most inopportune times, sneaking up right when we least expect it. Those voices serve as a reminder of our past but can't dictate, or predict, our future. Especially if you are a child of God! Our past can haunt us if we allow it to because that's where Satan lives and he wants us to live there too! He wants us to be destroyed and what better way than to "haunt" our minds and souls with a past full of hurt and trauma. Our voices can most definitely be squashed down, deep within the recesses of our minds, and be replaced by the Voice of the Lord God Almighty with encouraging, calming, comforting, hopeful words! Words we can then live out fully! As long as we live on the fallen planet, in this fallen world, we will struggle with voices in our heads. But it's not really the voices that we hear, it's how long we allow them to reside in the forefront of our thoughts and if we allow them to remain influential. I get my own voices that creep up from time to time, which is what inspired this post! The enemy will TRY to condemn me. He will TRY to make me feel unloved. He will TRY to make me feel less than. He will TRY to make me look back......It happens. But what DOESN'T happen is I won't allow those voices to take up residence long enough to influence who I am, what I do or don't do and how I see myself in Christ!!!

The one thing you have to remember is Satan has a plan for your life just as much as God has a plan for your life! Satan attacks the mind and thoughts to break his victims down. He plants all kinds of wrong things and dark things in the mind so at the weakest moment, sometimes in desperation, the temptation seems, and appears, like a good and right thing. The Apostle Peter warned us in 1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."  Dear ones, that IS Satan’s plan for your life -  out and out destruction. Do not be deceived! Satan can't do anything new and relies heavily on the things he already tried and succeeded at by our permission. Once he got the "reaction" or the "action" he wanted and when he knew it worked on us, he would keep using it over and over until one day, we surrendered it to our Lord and Savior and it worked no more! For instance, let's say you had been verbally abused and it effected you greatly, as it would most anyone! Satan knows the "exact phrase or words" that will trigger you into a behavior or self-loathing so he brings out the big guns and attacks your mind and thoughts. Each time you react, or act, it gives him power. However, if you turn to Jesus immediately when those thoughts and words are being slung at you, praying for His mercy and His comfort to take it away, to defeat the one who has been defeated forever, God WILL replace those thoughts and emotions with His peace and comfort and you regain the power that you gave away to the enemy!

Clear Differences

Now, as a rule, there are four voices that we all hear: God's, Satan's, the clamor of other people's and our own. The loudest and most obvious of voices is our own. Aside from our speaking voice, we also tend to talk to ourselves inside our heads, seeing images and pictures inside our heads, we have emotions, desires and feelings, and so on. Mostly, its our minds that tell us what we think, our will tells us what we want and HOW to get it, and our emotions tell us how we feel or how TO feel. The Bible refers to our minds, wills, and emotions as our "flesh nature." The second type of voice which constantly begs for our attention are the clamoring "voices" of other people. We have all been there! We've all ran to friends, family, co-workers etc, and heard several voices, oftentimes in contradiction to each other! Sometimes, people say things that are true, spoken from an honest heart, and that are wise and good. But sometimes, people say things that are in direct opposition. The third kind of voice we hear is the "voice" of the devil, full of lies and deceit and destruction. The devil is a crafty little snake with crafty ways of speaking to us that he's perfected since he rebelled and was cast out of heaven. Make no mistake, he doesn't appear to us in a red, cloven-hoofed suit, pitchfork in hand and speak out loud to us! Oh no!!! He is much more subtle than that. If he wasn't subtle in his ways, none of us would fall victim to his ways, temptations or lies! You see, what he does is throw all kinds of thoughts into our minds like flaming arrows, speaking to us through the worldly ideas and viewpoints that he has injected into other people. Ephesians 6:16, "above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one" And fourth, and lastly the MOST IMPORTANT, is the voice of God, which can also be the most subtle and quieting! God doesn't speak to us through or in our minds; He speaks to us in our spirits, deep inside where the Holy Spirit resides! Unfortunately, we tend to spend the better part of our thought life in our heads. In other words, in "the mind of the flesh", focused on the sensory world that is all encompassing around us where our physical senses and our thoughts, feelings, desires, and emotions are constantly being bombarded and stimulated in worldly, carnal, fleshly ways. The world we live in currently, is full of this, no matter where you turn, where you look, what you see and hear. It's worldly. Fleshly. Sinful. Tempting. We tend to live on the shallow surface, rarely venturing deeper where the Spirit of God lives within us. As a direct result of not venturing deeper, many don't know where their spirits are nor do they know how to hear God's voice and be led by the Holy Spirit. Since that is becoming the norm, people leave themselves open wide to fall for the devastating lies and deceptions of our adversary!

God has some pretty strong things to say about our "flesh nature," and none of it is good! In the following passages, we are told to deny ourselves and to lose sight of our own agendas. We are told that our minds and thoughts and purposes and impulses and desires are naturally hostile to God! We are told that our reasoning is futile and that our natural desires are antagonistic to and opposed to and constantly at war with the desires of the Spirit. We are told that our "flesh" is our Godless human nature and our sin nature and that it should be crucified and be put to death on a daily basis. Let's take a quick look.
1) Luke 9:23, "Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." According to the meaning in the original Greek, Jesus was saying that we must follow His example by denying ourselves and our own agendas, by disowning ourselves, by forgetting ourselves, by losing sight of ourselves, by refusing ourselves, and by giving up ourselves and our own agendas! This is exactly what is meant to "take up our cross daily." DAILY! This is simply because it's our natural interests that are contrary to the will of God, our natural feelings and reasoning are contrary to the will of God. We need to lose sight of ourselves on a daily basis so that we can obey the voice of God when we hear Him speak!
2) Romans 8:7-8, "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8) So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God."
3) 1 Corinthians 3:20, "and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile."
4) Galatians 5:16-17, "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17) For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish."

I'd say those are some pretty strong words from the Lord! But the best way to begin hearing God better is to quit listening to our flesh so much. I know that's easier said than done, but to hear God's voice over all else, it's important that we turn off our reasoning and just put our emotions into neutral, or even reverse, when we are listening for an answer from God. I know it's not an easy thing to do but waiting and listening for His answer no matter how long it takes, is the best way to obey His Voice when we do hear it! Our flesh is always going to come forward immediately casting its selfish vote on what it THINKS we should do, or say, but we really need to learn to ignore all of that careless voting and spend time listening to our spirits instead. Let's say, for example, we are determined to do something no matter what anyone says, against better judgment, then we just might not hear God when He is clearly trying to tell us not to do it. If our determination is louder and stronger than our desire to hear God's voice, then God's voice will be pushed down deep inside in order for us to do what we want. Then, let's say we've weighed all the pros and the cons to the nest of our abilities, and we've finally made the choice which seems to be the most rational and right choice to our minds, then we may not even feel the NEED to ask God about it in the first place, foolishly thinking we've weighed everything out just so. We can justify it all we want even though He might guide us to an even better decision.

If we really, really want to do something, and we are totally determined, then our emotions can drown out God when He is trying to prevent us from making a mistake. Happens time and time again and I've seen it happen in my own life. I'm no longer so flippant with my "desires" and "wants" because as I matured in life and in Christ, growing closer in my walk with Jesus, I long to do His will and I long to hear His voice above all others! Do I slip up? Sure. But it's not nearly as it was in my younger days! Our minds and flesh can be very stubborn things to overcome and to surrender, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes! This just illustrates how our wills, our minds, and our emotions can hinder us from hearing the voice of God. What it all boils down to is that "the mind of the flesh" tends to be truly ungodly and tends to be in direct opposition to the things of God. WE are ALL living in a war zone that is taking place inside of our minds. There needs to be greater emphasis because the battle is against the devil who is seeking our destruction through thoughts and suggestions and our minds! Once again, when we make important decisions in this life and for our lives, and if we are led by our own reasonings and our own feelings, then it can definitely leave us wide open to be deceived by the devil and his evil ways.  Our lives just might end up being useless for the kingdom of God and that's the last thing any of us should want to happen!

Satan has his plan for us. Remember! It's NOT for our good nor for our benefit. Satan wants to destroy the very ones that God Created for His Kingdom! Satan's plans for us is torment, doubt, darkness, evil and pain. 1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." God gave Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, His plan for us: Jeremiah 29:11-13, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12) Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13) And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." God promises a future for us. He gives us hope through Jesus Christ.

So when you hear someone whisper in your ear, stop for a moment and think, "Does this encourage me and provide hope for my life, or does it seek to destroy my life?" Remember, Satan is the great deceiver, and the master of confusion, and he'll try to make his plan seem like it's the best idea YOU ever heard. You have to take time to pray and seek God’s wisdom and obey. He will reveal the truth, but you have to take the time to seek His face.


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