"Voices"

"There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification." 1 Corinthians 14:10

We are living in a time when we are bombarded by "voices". They come from every direction- through the news media, through various forms of entertainment, through close acquaintances, through the internet and many other places and people. It seems as if the voices are being intensified, and the truth is, they are.

Daily we have to deal with these voices, among which are the voices of humanistic wisdom, logic, reason and man's opinions. We have to battle the voices of fear and discouragement, lies and deception. There is also the voice of pride, selfishness, anger, frustration, criticism, confusion and condemnation. From the time we wake up in the morning, until we go to bed at night, and even after we go to bed those voices continue speaking to us through our thoughts.

Many voices are helpful and we should listen to them. We should heed those that are warnings. But the enemy is trying to use the "voices" to cause us to miss God's voice and stop hearing Him altogether. Remember in the Garden of Eden, Eve heard the "voice" of the serpent and his enticing words and gave into his "speech". She listened to his "voice" and ignored the "voice" of the Lord which had already spoken to them not to eat from the tree.

Satan has no new tricks, he keeps using the same ones over and over again. He wants you to listen to these other voices. He wants you to heed them and stop listening to the voice of God. For this reason it is imperative that you spend quiet time alone with the Lord each and every day. You must pull yourself away and listen to the voice of the Lord- listen to Him through reading His word, through prayer and by His Holy Spirit. He is speaking as much as the other voices are, He just isn't speaking as loudly- His is more of a "still, small voice".

Have a great day. There are a lot of voices out there, but the voice of the Lord is the main one we need to be listening to, but if you aren't spending time with Him you aren't hearing His voice.

For further reading:
Genesis 3:2-8
Proverbs 7:21
Colossians 2:4
1 Kings 19:12
Matthew 11:15
Mark 1:35