By Leigh-Ann Brisbin, Women’s Director
Whose voice are you listening to?
“I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid and God said, Who told you that you were naked?” Genesis 3:10-11
Have you ever stopped to think about the million voices in your head each day, or at any given moment for that matter?
“Stop at the store to get milk and eggs on your way home”
“Call mom to tell her you love her”
“Send boss an email regarding project”,
“Hmm, what do I feel like for lunch”
“Pray for the neighbor whose losing his job”
“Help son with language arts project due Friday”
The voices above have more to do with an internal “to do” checklist but what about the “I am” or “I am not” voices, or the “you better”, “you should”, “you need to”, “you have to” or “you can’t” voices? Some may be from your own internal voice telling yourself things deep within your soul, the voices of others, or voices fully rooted in lies from the enemy. Yet, we walk unaware that we are even listening to him. How in the world can we hear the still small voice of the Father above it all? How are we so easily deceived?
Stop for a moment, what lies you have been listening to?
Usually the “I” statements we hear as adults are rooted in the “you” statements we hear as children that hang on and take root by the enemy’s deceit. The enemy is crafty. Look at how he so easily manipulated Eve.
- Distortion of Truth and Appeal to Pride – “Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1). He twisted God’s words and so intentionally focused on what they couldn’t do instead of what they could. He appealed to their pride and their flesh which gave birth to what she wanted and not about what God wanted. She saw that it was good for food and pleasing to the eye and desirable for gaining wisdom (Genesis 3:6). It was about glorifying self and not about honoring God.
- Altered Focus – Eve said that they could not eat from the tree in the middle of the garden or they would die. The enemy takes focus off of eternal perspective and puts it on the temporary “You will not surely die.” (Genesis 3:4).This is a blatant lie to shift focus. 2 Cor. 4:18 tells us to fix our eyes on what is unseen (eternal) not on what is seen (temporal).
- Attacking our value and worth – The enemy goes on to say that “God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). This is yet another lie that the enemy used to try to convince Eve that the way God had designed her to be was not like Him and what he had intended her to know was not good enough. Genesis 1:26-27 tells us that we are made in the image and likeness of God, already like Him.
Genesis 1:31 says, “God saw all that he had made and it was very good. VERY GOOD! Perfectly designed.
You know where the problem came in? The enemy cast doubt on God’s truth, perfect design and protection for us and Eve believed that another way was better. The result of Adam and Eve’s belief in that lie led to sin that led to shame, running from God, physical pain, painful toil, disruption in relationships and separation from God. If you are feeling any of these ask yourself what lie you might be believing and why you are believing it.
The good news is God never stops pursuing us to show us His truth.
