Hearing Voices?

She spun around and, confronting the person who called her, said, " Why did you call me that? That's not my name anymore!"

"Then why did you turn around?"

Good question. If we are not going to identify ourselves by a name, by a label, then we have to learn not to respond when we hear it. The very act of turning, even to confront, says that the word still carries power.

What names turn your head?

Stupid?

Ugly?

Worthless?

Words I can't put on a blog like this without getting flagged?

Why do you turn when you hear them? Don't you know who you are? Do your ears perk up when God calls you precious and holy? The apple of His eye? His chosen one?

Why is the voice of the enemy so much easier to hear? I hear the hiss, even today. "They think you're a joke." "Nobody really likes you." "You have nothing to say."

Here's the thing: the enemy will never stop taunting. He never wants you to move ahead. He doesn't want you to live in the truth, that God alone defines you, because he is the father of lies. Stop giving him rent in your head, because he doesn't belong there and he knows it. He's a squatter, and as long as you turn your head when he calls, he still has the control.

So how do we fight back? We get in the Word. We read our Bibles. We memorize scripture to deflect the barrage of the enemy. (Yeah, I said memorize. You can do it.) At the very least. we begin to recognize who God says we are and when we look in the mirror, we see what He sees.

You are created in His image. You are unique and beautiful, perfect in His sight. (Psalm 139)

You are planned for and purposed. You are not random. (Ephesians 2:10).

You are not bound by your own weaknesses, but made to live in His victory. (John 16:33)

Next time you hear something ugly, consider the source. Tearing you down? That's not God. Stop listening.