I don’t believe everything I hear anymore. Do you? Believing everything we hear can cause us to be confused or depressed or overwhelmed with an array choices. What we listen to matters.
What are you listening to right now? Silence? Music? The latest breaking news? TV commercials saying you need to wear a certain brand to be cool or important? Your own voice of reason? A friend’s opinion? Maybe you still hear an echoing voice from your childhood saying:
“You’ll never amount to anything.”
“When will you ever learn?”
“What’s wrong with you? Are you dumb or what?”
“I wish you were never born.”
The truth is you cannot believe everything you hear. Not in your past or present. Not everything you hear is worth your time. Time is precious and fleeting. Watching the news can lead to increased anxiety or depression. Your own voice can lead you astray or stop you from following God. Well meaning loved ones may share their opinion, but they can still be wrong.
Voices and opinions are everywhere. They ramble on morning, noon and night trying to capture our attention. It can be overwhelming sometimes.
Earplugs, anyone?
For those of us who can hear, obviously we can’t silence out all of the voices around us, but we can CHOOSE who and what we will listen to. I know firsthand listening and believing the wrong voice has serious consequences. For example, the voice of Shame. Wow, she’s something else! I’ve spent much of my life listening to her lies. She made sure I heard loud and clear:
“You are worthless.”
“You aren’t smart enough to do that. Who do you think you are?”
“You are nothing but a failure.”
“You’ll never be good enough, so why even try? Just give up. Quit now. No one cares anyway.”
Shame’s goal is simple: Partner for life. One day isn’t long enough for her. She’s after all my days and all of ME. Shame shouts lie after lie so I will stay down and shut up. Shame knows if I listen to the voice of Truth long enough, I will walk out on her once and for all and she will be left alone to choke on my dust.
Shame is no longer my friend. Actually her days are numbered. One day Shame will be no more. One day a loud Voice will silence ALL voices.
Today I choose to listen to another voice, the voice of Truth.
(Click here for the song, The Voice of Truth)
I am loved and precious in God’s sight.
I am adopted into God’s family.
