“Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”
Proverbs 30:5
In kids’ sports, often there are parents who sit on the sidelines and cheer their child on. Then there are the ones who yell for their kid to do something different or they yell at the coach.
I’ve seen confusion plow across a child’s face as they wonder what to do. The important voice is the coach’s who gives quiet instruction as needed.
Throughout my life, I have had loud voices screaming in my head.
“You will never be good enough.”
“You don’t—nor will you ever—measure up.”
“You are so wrong to do it that way.”
“When will you ever learn?”
“Why did you say that?”
Those voices represent fear, lies, dissatisfaction, lost hope, distraction, shrinking failure, loss of identity, and more.
Sometimes, the declarations are so loud I can’t even hope to focus on truth. Once I listen to one negative statement, a dam bursts and the other hurtful proclamations crash around in my head and slide down a slippery slope into my heart.
Only an act of God or an intercession of His Spirit can stop the flood.
Recently, the tirade started again. I couldn’t get my head and heart to agree to breathe, refocus, and concentrate on truth. The diatribe would not stop. I prayed. I cried. I talked to my husband. I asked for prayer.
Then morning broke through.
God gave me glimpses of things from my past and how He’d been working to bring me to this very moment. He raised up memories of friends who had spoken whispers of grace with tender voices. He reminded me of people in the Bible I have identified with and showed me the deeper reason as to why.
Did you know Peter was passionate, forceful, and yet scared? He didn’t want to experience trouble with certain members of the family of faith, and so he changed how he behaved around them so they wouldn’t think poorly of him. (Galatians 2:11-13)
In the past, I’ve done something similar. I remember asking God if I would ever be comfortable enough in myself to be the same person no matter who I was with. Fear of rejection kept me from standing fully as myself.
Remember Gideon? He was so scared, he hid, acted at night, and snuck into the enemy camp with a friend because he was afraid to go alone.
If allowed, fear can be a powerful deterrent to fully stepping into whom we truly are in God and all He has for us.
We make excuses, believe we need more information before acting, allow past failures to interrupt forward movement.
But if we’ll stop and listen, fully believing God is with us as He says He is and trusting His plan, great things can and will happen.
To which voice are we willing to give our attention?
Let’s ask God to quiet the loud shouts and empty tirades of doubt so we can hear His whispers of grace, truth, and love.
Photo Credit: Karin Knutson
Thank you Susan. Powerful reminders of the faithfulness of our God to make beauty from the ashes in our lives.
Yes, His faithfulness is powerful, empowering, and transformative. Thank you for commenting.
Love this! Thanks Susan. ❤️
Thank you for this encouragement, Sally.
Susan, I can relate to the negative voices in one’s head. Don’t you wish we could erase them? Thankfully God’s voice has more authority … but we have to choose which voice we’ll believe.
Amen, Karen, Amen!
Amen. He moves just at the right time that we need Him. He loves us so much. Miss seeing you, Karen!
Nice to see friend connections!
What a bummer that those voices get louder as we get older. All the more reason to stay close to the Lord and saturated in His truth. Thanks for sharing.
Yes! Yes! Yes! I think it’s the times we are blindsided and surprised by the source that it takes more focus, intention, and strength to redirect ourselves to that truth. Thank you for commenting, Bethany.
Excellent, sagacious counsel, dear sister! Thank you! ❤️❤️❤️
Awww, thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate you.
A well-timed reminder! Thank you.
I’m thankful for God’s timing, Tom. Thank you for commenting. God bless.
Wow, wow, wow. I had no idea you made a new post, because I wan’t subscribed to your newsletter. I am now though! This post brought back memories for me. Because before I was Abby Martin, I had a different last name and I went through a lot as a child and teenager (my birth parents were addicts). I couldn’t agree more, those voices you’ve once heard can try and scream loud and if you don’t have the Word of God to confess and pray you through, it can get SUPER tough. This post blessed me so much, Susan! I hope things are getting better for you! Love you! Hugs! <3
Awww, dear Abby. Thank you for sharing your story. I am thankful this blessed you as it did. I hope you will be notified now when new devotional blogs and flash fiction are posted. God bless, dear sister.