DAY 12: WHOSE VOICE ARE YOU HEARING?
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” John 10:27 NKJV
“Four voices may compete for your ears, but only one voice deserves the authority to direct your life.” — Dr. Daniel LeBlanc
WHOSE VOICE ARE YOU HEARING?
Every day there are voices competing for our attention. They influence our thoughts, shape our imaginations, affect our decisions, and eventually determine the direction of our lives. If we are going to develop a God Imagination, we must learn to discern which voice we are hearing.
Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” John 10:27 NKJV. Notice that Jesus did not say His sheep would never hear another voice. He said His sheep would recognize His voice and follow Him.
I believe there are four primary voices competing for our ears.
1. THE SECULAR VOICE
The secular voice is the voice of a world system attempting to live independently of God. We hear it through culture, entertainment, social media, education, advertising, popular opinion, and people around us. While not everything in secular culture is evil, its values will often contradict the nature, character, and ways of God.
Paul warned, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2 NKJV. The world is continually trying to conform our thinking to its pattern, while God is transforming our thinking according to His truth.
The secular voice says, “Everybody is doing it.” God asks, “Is it righteous?” The secular voice asks, “Does it make you happy?” God asks, “Does it please Me?” The secular voice says, “Follow your truth.” Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” John 14:6 NKJV.
2. THE SATANIC VOICE
The satanic voice always contradicts, twists, questions, or attempts to undermine the Word of God. We saw it in the Garden when the serpent asked Eve, “Has God indeed said...?” Genesis 3:1 NKJV.
Satan does not always begin with an obvious lie. Sometimes he begins by questioning what God has already said. He whispers fear, temptation, accusation, condemnation, unbelief, and deception because he wants those thoughts to become evil imaginations.
Jesus said Satan “is a liar and the father of it.” John 8:44 NKJV. When a voice contradicts the Word of God, you do not have to entertain it, negotiate with it, or meditate upon it. Reject it.
The enemy may speak, but he does not have the authority to make you agree.
3. THE VOICE OF SELF OR THE FLESH
This voice can be more difficult to recognize because it sounds like us. It includes human reasoning, emotions, appetites, desires, memories, past experiences, wounds, and learned patterns that have not been brought under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Scripture says, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another.” Galatians 5:17 NKJV. The flesh wants to interpret life through what it sees, feels, remembers, desires, and reasons, while the Holy Spirit leads us according to the truth and purposes of God.
Your feelings are real, but they are not always right. Your reasoning can be logical and still miss what God is saying. Your past experience may tell you, “This has never worked before,” while the Spirit of God is saying, “Trust Me and step forward.”
This is why we cannot simply say, “I feel led,” and assume every strong feeling came from God. Our emotions, reasoning, and desires must come under the authority of the Word and the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
4. THE VOICE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
This is the voice we must learn to recognize above every other voice. Jesus called Him “the Spirit of truth” and said, “He will guide you into all truth.” John 16:13 NKJV.
The Holy Spirit will never contradict the Word He inspired. He reveals Jesus, illuminates Scripture, convicts us when we are moving in the wrong direction, reminds us of truth, produces His fruit within us, and leads us into the purposes of God.
The secular voice says, “Conform.”
The satanic voice says, “Question God.”
The flesh says, “Follow what you feel.”
The Holy Spirit says, “Follow Me.”
This is why discernment is so important. Something can sound reasonable and still be flesh. Something can be culturally acceptable and still contradict God’s nature. Something can enter your mind as a whisper and still originate from the kingdom of darkness.
We must test the voices.
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God.” 1 John 4:1 NKJV. Ask yourself, “Does this agree with Scripture? Does this reflect the nature and character of Jesus? Is this my flesh reacting from emotion or past experience? Is this leading me toward righteousness, faith, love, obedience, and the purposes of God?”
The more familiar you become with God, the easier it becomes to recognize what does not sound like Him. You do not have to spend your life studying darkness. Spend your life knowing Jesus, knowing His Word, and walking with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said His sheep know His voice.
That means you can learn to recognize Him.
Today, pay attention to the voices influencing your thoughts. Do not automatically believe something because the culture accepts it, the enemy whispers it, or your emotions feel it. Bring every voice under the authority of the Word of God and choose to follow the Holy Spirit.
Prayer
Father, teach me to recognize Your voice above every competing voice. Give me discernment when the secular world attempts to shape my thinking, when the enemy whispers lies, and when my own flesh tries to lead me through feelings, reasoning, desires, or past experiences. Holy Spirit, govern my thoughts, emotions, imagination, and decisions. I choose to hear Your voice, agree with Your Word, and follow Your leadership. Amen.
Today’s God Imagination
I will not allow the secular world, Satan, or my flesh to determine the picture within me. I know the voice of my Shepherd, and I choose to follow the Holy Spirit. I bring my reasoning, emotions, desires, and experiences under the authority of God’s Word. My ears belong to God, my thoughts belong to God, and my imagination belongs to God. Holy Spirit, speak. I am listening.
