A Good Headstart With The “Right” Voice

Dear brothers and sisters, the bible tells us that we as children of God, will receive 2 kinds of voices within our spirits. What is from the Holy Spirit and what isn’t. The voice that comes from the Holy Spirit matches God’s promises, strengthens our reliance on God and bring us to meet God, guiding us to do the Lord’s will in our lives. However, the voice that comes from the forces of darkness pulls us away from God, rendering us the inability to trust, doubts grow and we start to get accused or accuse others. At the end, we will only act according to our own desires and flesh.

As we are finishing the last lap of 2021, let us think back on whether the voices we have heeded have led us to a blessed living? Is this Holy Spirit-driven voice in us, such that we can love and have mercy to those around us, or are we filled with more complaints and judgements? Now, we are always receiving some form of voice within us, therefore, we have to be vigil and discerning enough to make blessed choices. What should build us up in faith, we take in. What is not from the Lord, let us learn how to battle against it.

The golden standard: Word of God

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The truth is, the scriptures does not just give us strength through mere word. It is in the essence of the words that brings out God’s heart. And as the verse above says, God’s heart is to call us to become complete, in peace and hope upon Him.

Also, the Lord promises Emmanuel. He does not forsake us even at our lowest. He is not looking at our faults but first at our relationship with God, our Father. However, Satan works on moments where we are weak or made mistakes. Making us forget this unbreakable promise, belittling the credibility of HIs word, making us feel unworthy even, of His love. Therefore, we need to set apart the voices here. One that allows us to draw near to the Lord, and the other one that makes us fear coming before Him. Only when we go back to the foundation of our relationship with God, can we have a sound thinking and judgment. Then only, can we restore the right voice in our spirits.

” In other words, God’s word sums up His love and grace. It emphasises His love that is build upon the salvation of Christ. In man’s fallenness, only God’s love and grace can bring people into hope and the strength to be carried through. We live in sins and we are wrestling with our flesh every day. There may be even times where we feel defeated from repeated accusations. But only when we come back to see Jesus’ love and mercy that is bigger and above our sins, that He has overcomes the bondages of our sins, that we can be broken before God, yet repent and develop a heart that is led by a hope in His love and grace. This will help us to seek and find God’s hidden works and an opened, willing heart to receive His grace.

However, not just love and grace. There is also warning in God’s voice. At times when we have already set one foot into a pit of sins, when we are tempted, there will still be the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit that alerts us. Maybe through a sermon that we receive some realisation and unrest in our hearts, or a sense of rebuke in our conscience coming in. This is not an accusation, but a warning, a form of God’s protection for us. Just as if I see my son almost walking into a hole, I would shout loudly at the top of my lungs to alert him, even if it means giving him a shock, I need to do it to save him from his fall and possible injuries. So yes, the word of God really works in all ways for the good of His children’s spirit in this fallen world and our nature.

The wrong voices from the deceptive one

Now we must confirm again that the source of all wrong voices within us are influenced by Satan. Especially when we are not guarded in times of problems, worry and inabilities, he strikes. So if we are often focusing on the superficial issues or flowing along with the culture, we will not be able to round up the influence and traps of these forces of darkness. We will be easily attacked in our faith living.

How to practically hear the “right voice”?

So how do we practically hear the “right voice” right now?

1. Firstly, we have to be much aware of areas we are weak and feel bounded easily at. Everyone has areas we are wired to be more tempted in and that is the channel Satan will strike us the hardest and more often at, such that we will be disheartened. So in these areas, we have to submit to Jesus as our Lord. Not our might, not leaning on solutions outside of Him. When we give sovereignty to God, we will learn to put down our walls and be more open and sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading. Then we can time and again seek and immerse in the help of God’s guidance instead of our own.
2. Next, we need to look into our relationships with others. Are there certain broken bridges or tensions, old hurts or unspoken issues? The truth is, the more we try to change another person, the more miserable we may get. This is because, God is the only One who can transform a person’s heart. So this year, as we look at some of the relationship problems we had or still have, let us pray and seek to change our own thinking, perspective and the way we judge a person. Are there areas that we should put down some expectations, putting on our love from Christ to have mercy on others? Or if it is problems within us, are we using our past futures to set certain standards on how we demand from another? Are our words and actions coming from a place of loving and submitting to God? When we follow the Lord’s convictions in our relationships, amazingly, the Holy Spirit will work on people’s hearts in His time.
3. Finally, in our prayers, we have to seek God’s voice. Ephesians 6:18 says, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” We have to seek the Lord in all we do. When we are upright and truthful, baring our all before Him, we will be able to detect areas that require battling in our spirits, the discomfort of knowing some areas we have fallen into temptations for or need to meet God at. This battle should become our prayers, to return to God’s word as our foundation. So that we can follow the right voice and do the right thing in accordance to the Lord’s will.

Brothers and sisters, year 2021 has been a year of many voices of fear, doubt, fatigue and cycles of ups and down, especially with the wave of pandemic, endemic and new strains. Our lives, work, church living have all been through phases. But may we enter the new year with a more vigilant and discerning heart to the voice in our spirits so that we will be led and unmoved by the ever-changing matters of the world. God bless.