I walked into my favorite grocery store. I was tired. I hadn’t eaten that day and it was close to 5 pm. I had just made the decision to eat sugar-free and gluten-free that morning. I was going to the store to buy something healthy to fix for supper.
I had not thought about the looming obstacle I would encounter. I knew it was there. It’s always there right as I head down the main aisle. Today, it seemed to be larger and more intimidating than ever—the bakery case.
My downfall has always been the combination of sugar, flour and cinnamon. The large cinnamon rolls called to me. The voice in my head was urgent and loud, “You haven’t eaten today. You need to eat something. You need energy. You might drop dead if you don’t eat.”
I listened to the voice and added my own rationalities. “I do have a long evening ahead and I haven’t eaten. I do need energy. I could grab these now and start that healthy eating thing tomorrow.” I was telling myself this as I took a plastic baggie, grabbed the tongs and had my two choices in the bag.
Gods’ Voice
As I was tying the bag, I heard another voice in my head. This one was soft and quiet. It simply said, “What are you doing?”
The still, small voice arrested me. I had been on autopilot listening to the voice of the tempter who sided with my fleshly desires. All of sudden, I knew what I was doing was everything I had vowed I would not do.
I put the bag back in the bakery case and went to choose my skinned and deboned chicken breasts, salad ingredients, broccoli and fruit. That was in 2011. That was the last time I willingly listened to that overt voice.
The Tempter’s Voice
For years, I listened to it all the time. See, the voice of the tempter always has an element of truth to it. What he tells me is half-truth, half-lie. In the past he hadn’t needed to be too subtle. He just put the bait out there and like a hungry, naïve fish, I’d bite and gobble it up and more and more and more. He would sit back with a smug smile. Mission accomplished.
Part of the reason I always listened to him was it sounded so logical to me. My rational mind agreed with him because my flesh wanted something sweet and carb-laden with all the unhealthy fats.
What the tempter didn’t take into account was this time I really meant it. I had made a firm decision. I was going to listen to the voice of God. I had invited God to tell me when I was making a wrong decision.
How God Speaks
Because I had asked Him too, God spoke to me. It was in different than the voice of evil. Instead of asking me to mindlessly do something, God asked me to think about what I was doing.
God believed in me. He believed if I would use the brain He gave me, I would recognize the lie and go with the truth.
This one instance, and many others throughout the years, taught me a lot about distinguishing the voices speaking in my head. I only want to listen to the voice of God. These days I can tell which voice is His.
Ten Things About God’s Voice
- He will lead me to the whole truth, not a half-truth.
- He will not violate scripture, but fulfill it.
- He will lead me towards my destiny, not away from it.
- He will redirect me according to His ultimate will.
- He will cause me to think rather than act on impulse.
- He will lead me away from fulfilling fleshly desires and towards fulfilling my ultimate Kingdom purpose.
- He is loving, kind, understanding, soft and gentle.
- When I argue with Him, He doesn’t argue back. He simply states a truth.
- He is always speaking to me and speaks my language.
- I know His voice.
Destiny-Bound
Beginning to fulfill my destiny really began with learning to take care of my body by eating properly. I couldn’t go towards the purpose and plan God had for my life when I was super morbidly obese and could barely walk. His desire was for me to become healthy so I could move to the next part of His plan for my life.
The evil one knows this. He always hits at my weakness. As with everyone, my weakness will be something fleshly. For others it might be drugs, alcohol, sexual addiction, pornography, gambling, cigarettes, over-spending, or any number of things. These become things that pull God’s children away from focusing on the main thing—God.
Jesus said it this way. “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. I have come that you might have life and more abundantly.”1 Satan’s number one mission is to steal, kill and destroy my destiny. So if he can, he will lead me off-course.
Every time he would do this, I would have the nagging suspicion the voice speaking to me wasn’t God. However, I rationalized it because it was just what I wanted. After all, didn’t God want me to be happy? This kind of rationalization would always propel me to listen to the wrong voice, even though I knew it was wrong.
My I-Want
My mind is not bad. When I became a Christian, I received the mind of Christ.2 Learning to exercise it is another thing. I must be tuned in to God’s station so my mind is really functioning in conjunction with the Spirit of God. I must be desiring to be led by God rather than by my own desires.
When I want my way, I can have it because I have free will.3 I can be just like Eve. My I-want voice can scream louder than the voice of God. The devil will agree with what I want. However, if I want to hear it, God’s voice will whisper softly to me. That whisper will speak louder than every other voice combined if I let it.
I choose Who I want to listen to. I really know the voice of God. I know what His purposes are. I know how to discern His voice. I just choose whether or not I want to follow it.
Sheep Hear His Voice
Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”4 Why do sheep follow the voice of the shepherd? Because they trust him. He protects them. He feeds them. He finds water for them, shelter when needed and soft places to lie down.
When I really began to understand God wanted only good things for me, not disaster,5 I asked His advice. I longed for His voice. I began to live my life based on what He said to me
The Sound of His Voice
I began to hear Him everywhere—in the soft giggle of a child, in the soaring flight of a hawk, in the tired, ragged woman asking for a quarter, in the silence, in the click of the computer keyboard, in the voice of musicians and preachers of the gospel, in God’s Word and yes, in the gentle voice I’ve come to know and love speaking in my mind, heart and spirit. It’s a voice that fills all of me. There is no voice like it.
“Then he was told, ‘Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by.’ A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn’t to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper. When Elijah heard the quiet voice, he muffled his face with his great cloak, went to the mouth of the cave, and stood there. A quiet voice asked, ‘So Elijah, now tell Me, what are you doing here?’”6
“So, God speaks to you?” the journalist queried the well-known pastor. “Is it an audible voice?”
The pastor looked him in the eyes and said, “No, it is much louder than that.”
How does God speak to you?
Teresa Shields Parker at 430 pounds in 2004. Teresa today with 262 pounds gone.
If God is speaking to you about your health being a major roadblock to His plans and purposes for your life, run don’t walk and sign up today for Sweet Change Weight Loss Coaching and Accountability Group. It is my heart’s desire to help you get free of the bondages of extreme weight. No hype here. Just truth. I can tell you unequivocally this is one time I do know what I’m talking about. You know if I am speaking to you. Here’s the link: https://www.teresashieldsparker.com/sweet-change/. Don’t wait. Your destiny is calling.
1 John 10:10 NIV
21 Corinthians 2:16 NIV
3 Genesis 2:16-17; 3:6 NIV
4 John 10:27 ESV
5 Jeremiah 29:11 NLT
6 1 Kings 19: 11-13 MSG
Teresa Shields Parker is a Christian weight loss author, coach, podcaster, and speaker, who has lost 250 pounds and kept it off since 2013. Her books include: “Reconnecting Jayne: Her Sister’s Support,” “Rebuilding Jayne: Her Father’s Protection,” “Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds and Stopped Trying to Earn God’s Favor,” “Sweet Grace Study Guide,” “Sweet Victory: Winning the Battle,” “Sweet Surrender: Breaking Strongholds,” “Sweet Journey to Transformation: Practical Steps to Lose Weight and Live Healthy”, “Sweet Freedom: Losing Weight and Keeping It Off With God’s Help,” “Sweet Freedom Study Guide,” “Sweet Change: True Stories of Transformation,” “Sweet Hunger: Developing an Appetite for God,” and “Sweet Excuses: Stop Lying to Yourself & Start Losing Weight.” She also offers Overcomers Christian Weight Loss Academy and VIP intensive coaching. Don’t miss her weekly podcast, Sweet Grace for Your Journey, where she shares tips from her personal journey of losing weight and discovering healthy living. Contact her at [email protected].
I’ve just started Steven Furtick’s “Crash the Chatterbox” bible study. This post was extremely helpful for the first assignment, which was to interview 3 mature believers and ask them how they determine whether any random thought or belief is from God, or the enemy, my past, my critics, or a faulty belief system about myself. Thanks for a great post!
Your question inspired this post, so thanks for that Sharon! There definitely can be a chatterbox in our head if we allow it. Our minds are our own property. We can take our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. We don’t have to act on every thought, we don’t even have to allow the thoughts to invade and muddy our minds. We can kick them out if they aren’t in line with what God wants us to focus on.
This definitely is a topic I am passionate about.
Sometimes, when God wants to get a point across to me, I hear a scripture or concept everywhere I turn. Prime example: When I was pregnant with my 5th child, I kept hearing the word midwife, over and over. At the time, midwife meant lay midwife to me. I live in an Old Order Mennonite Community. I had trouble with bleeding. A friend told me, they can make a tea. Well, I wasn’t trusting my life to a tea. I wrestled with this for a while and actually felt condemned for not having the “faith” to do that. Providentially, I found out about a birthing center directly across from a hosptial. They were a little reticent to take me, based on my past, but they did. It was a much better experience than having a doctor. I had a midwife for the last three of my children.
I would say that might have been something like a word of wisdom for you. You just have to have the discernment to know if that is right for you. God is very personal, specific, just for each of us. What is right for you might not be for others.
Thank you for your wonderful article. God speaks to me in several ways. The 3 main that come to me are through His word; through the counsel of wise Christians; and through, as 2 Tim. 1:7 says, God has not given us a spirit of fear or timidity but of power, love and a sound mind. But the list you gave is excellent for ways to be careful to know if it is God’s voice speaking to me. I think when I truly want to know the truth, he gives me the truth that sets me free. Thank you and God bless you and this ministry.
Thanks so much. I struggled with this for years until I realized if I address the God of the universe, He is going to answer me in some way!
This is so good. We need to be reminded often, and we need to take note. Especially with all the other chatter in the world..
Thanks Kurt. Yes, lots of noise to tune out and only One channel we really need.