How can a person tell when a thought is God’s Voice or when it is Satan’s lies?
One key indicator is that Satan’s lies are bent on attacking my value and destroying my desire to come to God.
Phrases like, “You’ve messed up again, God won’t want to see you!” and “You are such a failure as a Christian!” may sound like rational thoughts when considering the evidence, but they are in direct opposition to the truth that God’s voice always invites me to come to Him, regardless of where I am.
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)
One key indicator is that Satan’s lies are bent on attacking my value and destroying my desire to come to God.
Phrases like, “You’ve messed up again, God won’t want to see you!” and “You are such a failure as a Christian!” may sound like rational thoughts when considering the evidence, but they are in direct opposition to the truth that God’s voice always invites me to come to Him, regardless of where I am.
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)
If attacking my value does not keep me away from God, Satan will use the more subtle tactic of deceiving me about my true condition and need for God's changing grace.
Thoughts like, “I’m doing so well, praying and reading God’s Word.” “Everything is going well, I must be doing something right!” can mask pride and give a false security that equally destroys a desire to come to God. A person without an inner thirst will not come to God. A longing, a desire for the inner empty to be filled, a dissatisfaction with plastic facades and empty motions--that place of neediness and thirst for righteousness is exactly what delights the Father:
"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost." (Isaiah 55:1)
Jesus made it very specific that the thirsty one, the needy one, the distressed one crying out, is crying out to Him--and the one who comes to Him will be satisfied, not just one time, but continually. The invitation is open.
“Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’”
(John 7:37-38)
You know what the scary part was? The people who studied the Scriptures were the ones who wouldn’t come to Jesus. The reason? Although the motions made it look like they were seeking God, they weren’t thirsty. They didn’t feel a driving need that made them want to be changed. Their knowledge of Scripture kept them insulated from seeing or feeling their true condition—that they were not filled with compassion and love for others, they were concerned only for their own wellbeing.
“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”
(John 5:39)
Whether we hear the lies that we have messed up too much and God doesn't want us to come, or we are subtly deceived with feeling no need to come, the invitation remains the same to the end:
“Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” (Revelation 22:17)
Thoughts like, “I’m doing so well, praying and reading God’s Word.” “Everything is going well, I must be doing something right!” can mask pride and give a false security that equally destroys a desire to come to God. A person without an inner thirst will not come to God. A longing, a desire for the inner empty to be filled, a dissatisfaction with plastic facades and empty motions--that place of neediness and thirst for righteousness is exactly what delights the Father:
"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost." (Isaiah 55:1)
Jesus made it very specific that the thirsty one, the needy one, the distressed one crying out, is crying out to Him--and the one who comes to Him will be satisfied, not just one time, but continually. The invitation is open.
“Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’”
(John 7:37-38)
You know what the scary part was? The people who studied the Scriptures were the ones who wouldn’t come to Jesus. The reason? Although the motions made it look like they were seeking God, they weren’t thirsty. They didn’t feel a driving need that made them want to be changed. Their knowledge of Scripture kept them insulated from seeing or feeling their true condition—that they were not filled with compassion and love for others, they were concerned only for their own wellbeing.
“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”
(John 5:39)
Whether we hear the lies that we have messed up too much and God doesn't want us to come, or we are subtly deceived with feeling no need to come, the invitation remains the same to the end:
“Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” (Revelation 22:17)
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