Through the voices period, I learned about the only three sources of information and communication. While methods vary, there are only three voices. The first, is God. This voice will always line up with the bible and His character. He cannot contradict Himself and He always speaks with love. We often forget the love behind the voice. If God Himself is sharing something or offering insight, it will never be filled with fear or hate - only love and compassion.
God will never gossip. It's not His nature to share information without purpose and without love. When we believe we have insight into a person's life during prayer or simply as we are in relationship with them, if there isn't an overwhelming sense of love for the person, it probably isn't Jesus. He also hasn't asked us to share this concern with others nor even confront the person. If He wants you to say something, it will be very obvious by His hand bringing about the opportunity or by His prompting. He doesn't want us to step out on our own to "help" this person change. It simply isn't our job most of the time to say something. We are NOT the Holy Spirit and we are NOT meant to be everyone's accountability partner.
This brings us to the second source of information - satan, the devil or his demons. He is a gossip. He is a divisive presence and his will is to destroy. When he offers insight into a person, it's filled with hate and fear. Every time intuition causes you to dislike someone in your life, question the source. Be aware of who is speaking to you. If we choose to believe the whisper in our ear, we usually start to seek evidence to support the gossip. Another lesson I've learned, we will always find what we are seeking. Unfortunately, circumstantial evidence to support our belief will arise in most situations because of our life experience.
Let me share an example. One day, I was searching the floor of my car for change so I could buy a diet coke (years ago, when I was in the poverty bracket). I often had change fall out of my purse, so this was actually a great opportunity to find the 79 cents I needed. Much to my surprise, shortly following my search, someone asked me if I had been looking for "crack" crumbs or dust. This person's experience had been with addicts and because of their life experience, they had assumed something untrue. Do you see how easy this can happen in your life as well?
I had never been involved with drugs personally, so the question was, at the time, a shocker. Thank God, they asked! More often, we don't ask. We go on assuming something because of our life experience rather than trying to understand the person we are considering. We forget everyone has different life experience. As I wrote in Monday's blog - get to know people and re-visit them regularly to get to know them again.
Which brings us to the third source of information - our own desires or fleshly interpretations. When we read a magazine telling us about yet another way to lose weight instantly, we want it. We want to look good forever. Or when an ad comes across our path for the next best technological gadget, we want it. Our country is deep in debt on a family and individual level because of our desire to have the next best thing. Keeping up with the Joneses became our mantra for more than a decade or two. Our desires are always with us and telling ourselves "no" can be difficult.
One time, I was offered a free Volvo sedan. At the time, I was a single mother, with a car falling apart and an income below poverty level. This was a tempting proposition. I would be stupid to decline the offer. However, I had a gut feeling it might be a bad idea. So, I prayed, researched the car and talked to friends who knew cars. The conclusion was I could not afford to fix this car if it broke down or needed repairs. This was a bad idea. I would be without a car if anything happened and I couldn't afford to keep up the maintenance. I turned it down. Shortly following, a Camry became available to me at an affordable price. This was the right decision. The car was well maintained, inexpensive to repair and a very safe vehicle.
Today, I still make wrong choices at times, but I do try to discern the source of information before making a final decision. I quickly weigh three things: 1) does it sound like God? His character? Am I at peace about it? 2) Is it too good to be true? Will anyone come to harm in the long run? 3) Am I anxious about the decision? Do I show terrific impatience?
Lesson for today: Carefully weigh the source of every thing I read, watch, hear and say. I won't be perfect and avoid negative influence altogether, but if I am intentional, this may help me to make wise decisions more often than poor decisions. This doesn't mean that I will avoid the world nor never watch certain movies or shows, but it means I must work to be aware of the source. Knowing the source allows me to decipher whether the information will be stored in my heart or information to be discarded quickly.
God will never gossip. It's not His nature to share information without purpose and without love. When we believe we have insight into a person's life during prayer or simply as we are in relationship with them, if there isn't an overwhelming sense of love for the person, it probably isn't Jesus. He also hasn't asked us to share this concern with others nor even confront the person. If He wants you to say something, it will be very obvious by His hand bringing about the opportunity or by His prompting. He doesn't want us to step out on our own to "help" this person change. It simply isn't our job most of the time to say something. We are NOT the Holy Spirit and we are NOT meant to be everyone's accountability partner.
This brings us to the second source of information - satan, the devil or his demons. He is a gossip. He is a divisive presence and his will is to destroy. When he offers insight into a person, it's filled with hate and fear. Every time intuition causes you to dislike someone in your life, question the source. Be aware of who is speaking to you. If we choose to believe the whisper in our ear, we usually start to seek evidence to support the gossip. Another lesson I've learned, we will always find what we are seeking. Unfortunately, circumstantial evidence to support our belief will arise in most situations because of our life experience.
Let me share an example. One day, I was searching the floor of my car for change so I could buy a diet coke (years ago, when I was in the poverty bracket). I often had change fall out of my purse, so this was actually a great opportunity to find the 79 cents I needed. Much to my surprise, shortly following my search, someone asked me if I had been looking for "crack" crumbs or dust. This person's experience had been with addicts and because of their life experience, they had assumed something untrue. Do you see how easy this can happen in your life as well?
I had never been involved with drugs personally, so the question was, at the time, a shocker. Thank God, they asked! More often, we don't ask. We go on assuming something because of our life experience rather than trying to understand the person we are considering. We forget everyone has different life experience. As I wrote in Monday's blog - get to know people and re-visit them regularly to get to know them again.
Which brings us to the third source of information - our own desires or fleshly interpretations. When we read a magazine telling us about yet another way to lose weight instantly, we want it. We want to look good forever. Or when an ad comes across our path for the next best technological gadget, we want it. Our country is deep in debt on a family and individual level because of our desire to have the next best thing. Keeping up with the Joneses became our mantra for more than a decade or two. Our desires are always with us and telling ourselves "no" can be difficult.
One time, I was offered a free Volvo sedan. At the time, I was a single mother, with a car falling apart and an income below poverty level. This was a tempting proposition. I would be stupid to decline the offer. However, I had a gut feeling it might be a bad idea. So, I prayed, researched the car and talked to friends who knew cars. The conclusion was I could not afford to fix this car if it broke down or needed repairs. This was a bad idea. I would be without a car if anything happened and I couldn't afford to keep up the maintenance. I turned it down. Shortly following, a Camry became available to me at an affordable price. This was the right decision. The car was well maintained, inexpensive to repair and a very safe vehicle.
Today, I still make wrong choices at times, but I do try to discern the source of information before making a final decision. I quickly weigh three things: 1) does it sound like God? His character? Am I at peace about it? 2) Is it too good to be true? Will anyone come to harm in the long run? 3) Am I anxious about the decision? Do I show terrific impatience?
Lesson for today: Carefully weigh the source of every thing I read, watch, hear and say. I won't be perfect and avoid negative influence altogether, but if I am intentional, this may help me to make wise decisions more often than poor decisions. This doesn't mean that I will avoid the world nor never watch certain movies or shows, but it means I must work to be aware of the source. Knowing the source allows me to decipher whether the information will be stored in my heart or information to be discarded quickly.
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