Whose Voice Is That?

Yesterday, during my lunch break, I decided to sit back and watch an episode of The Andy Griffith Show.  I enjoy the fun, clean comedy almost as much as I enjoy seeing actors who were "nobody" at that time but went on to play powerful roles and become household names in the following years.

On this particular episode, there was a door-to-door salesman that had not appeared on any earlier episodes.  It didn't take me long, however, to realize that I knew the actor.  But try as I might, I could not figure out who he was.  In fact, to look at him, I didn't recognize him at all.  But his voice.  There was something about his voice.  It was driving me crazy, so I determined that if I hadn't figured it out by the end of the show, I'd look it up on IMDB.  (I don't know about you, but that sort of thing drives me nuts!)

As the show neared its end, I decided to try a different tactic.  I closed my eyes and focused on the voice, nothing else.  That was all it took.  Immediately, I had my answer, and I understood why I recognized the voice and not the face.  The actor was the original voice of Winnie the Pooh.  No wonder I was having such difficulty!

As I thought about it later, I realized that I have the same problem quite frequently in life.  In fact, few days pass by without me uttering the question, "Whose voice is that?"  That may sound a bit crazy, and this will sound even more so:  I hear voices on a regular basis.  Voices that tell me what to do, where to go, what to think and how to feel.  Voices that make excuses.  Voices that complain.  Voices that argue.  Voices that console, convince and connive.  And amidst all that noise, there is only one Voice of Truth.

With every decision I make, I have to stop and ask myself, "Whose voice is that?"  You see, I want to make sure I'm in the Lord's will.  I want to be certain that I'm following His path and not my own.  I want to ensure that His voice is the one I'm heeding and not one of the myriad of other voices droning about in my head.

Unfortunately, I don't have the advantage of looking up IMDB and discovering whose voice is whose.  I do, however, have the advantage of learning to recognize the Master's voice.  It isn't easy, and it certainly takes time, but as with any learning experience, the more time I spend at it, the more I will be able to recognize.  The more I listen to Him, the more familiar His voice will become.  And who knows, maybe there will come a day when I don't have to ask, "Whose voice is that?" for I'll know without a shadow of a doubt. 

And it won't be Winnie the Pooh!

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: - John 10:27

Jeff Allen - Get Me Pepperoni

The Deadly Darts of the Devil: Discouragement

Old Fable:

In the devil's marketplace were found many tools.  Tools such as deceit, lying, jealously, pride, hatred, envy, etc. were all up for sale at discount prices.  However, in the corner of the room, there was another tool, separated from the rest.  It was well-protected and encased in glass as a means of protection from the dust.  Unlike the other tools, its price was high.  This tool was discouragement.  When asked why such a small tool was so highly priced, the devil answered, “It is the most terrific of them all.  It can pry open a heart no matter how shielded.  It gets inside a heart when I cannot.  Adultery, idolatry, hatred, etc. have my labels placed upon them, and so people will know it's coming from me.  But not so with discouragement.  You see how badly worn it is?  Because I use it on almost everyone, and few people know it belongs to me.”

*********************************************

Discouragement can suck the joy right out of life.  It can warp our focus to where all we can see is the negative all around us.  Worst of all, discouragement leads to the desire to give up on everything, including God.  Discouragement argues, “Look, you've tried.  You've done what's right.  You've lived by God's standard.  Now, what has it gotten you?”  And sadly, we listen, and that is where our trouble begins.

 

To illustrate just how much discouragement can change our outlook, I want to share with you two quotes that I found.  Read them carefully.

Quote #1:

It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels he is worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him.

Quote #2:

I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the human family, there would not be one cheerful face on earth.  Whether I shall be better I cannot tell.  I actually forebode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible.  I must die or be better.

Isn't it amazing that two people could have such different views of life?  You want to know what's even more amazing?  The above quotations were both spoken by the same man in different times of his life.  Yes, even Abraham Lincoln knew what it was like to face discouragement. While there is no true “cure” for discouragement, there are some things we can do to keep it at bay.

First of all, we need rest.  Yes, I'm speaking of physical rest.  It is an accepted fact that when our bodies are tired, we are more susceptible to mood changes and stress.  However, as important as that is, it is also important to get our spiritual rest.  Psalm 37:7 says, Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him.  To rest in the Lord means to lean on Him, to cast our cares upon Him.  The word “rest” implies peace and comfort.  These can be found by going to God and sharing with Him the source of our discouragement.  Then, lean on His strength to see us through.

Second, we need to reflect.  This takes some practice, but it's worth it.  Reflecting means taking all of our negative thoughts and turning them into positive ones.  Bad circumstance?  Yes, but what good came from it?  Sometimes, we have to look really hard, and when all else fails, reflect on Romans 8:28 that reminds us if good hasn't come out of it yet, it will!

Third, we need to resist the devil who will be shouting at us constantly.  No, it's not an audible voice, but sometimes it feels like he's sitting right on our shoulders, filling our ears with complaints and negative thoughts.  It's easy to listen to him without even realizing we're doing it.  That's why we need to become more aware of his presence.  If the thoughts we're having are negative and leading to discouragement, they're not of God.  II Corinthians 10:5 speaks of bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.  When we resist the devil, that's the first step in getting our thoughts straight.  Once he's no longer shouting in our ears, it's easier to bring those thoughts to where they need to be.

***Excerpt from The Deadly Darts of the Devil by Dana Rongione***

Doorways and Decisions

Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. - Acts 16:6-7

No doubt about it, there are a couple of strange phrases in those two verses.  Did you notice them?  "And were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia."  The Holy Spirit forbade preaching?   I was under the impression that preaching was a good thing.  Didn't Christ say, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel"?  As far as I can tell, that's exactly what Paul and his gang were trying to do, but the Holy Spirit wouldn't allow it.

Look at the next one:  "but the Spirit suffered them not."  In Bible times, the word "suffer" meant "allow".  So basically, it's saying that the Spirit wouldn't allow them to go to Bithynia.  But they were going there to preach.  They were trying to win souls for Christ.  They were trying to follow the great command of Christ.  Why wouldn't the Spirit let them do it?

The simple explanation is this:  it wasn't His will.  Yes, God wanted them to preach.  Yes, God wanted them to witness.  Yes, God wanted them to win souls.  He wasn't forbidding their preaching; He was forbidding their direction.  Paul and his gang were trying to head further into Asia, but God had other plans, and those plans involved a man back in Macedonia, several hundred miles in the opposite direction.

Has God ever slammed a door in your face?  It smarts, doesn't it?  We don't like to be told "no."  We pout when we don't get our own way.  After all, we have plans, goals and dreams, right?  But aren't God's plans, goals and dreams for us more important?  Yes, it's disappointing when God closes a door just when we thought things were looking up, but we know it's for our good.  The real question is, how do we respond?  I know how Paul responded.

And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them - Acts 16:9-10

As soon as Paul got direction from the Lord, he set out.  Notice he didn't argue with the Lord.  He didn't ask for an explanation.  He didn't try to persuade the Lord to change His mind.  He obeyed.  He gathered his things and went in the direction of Macedonia.

Did you notice what else he didn't do?  He didn't stand there staring at the closed door.  Have you ever wondered how much time we waste pursuing things that can never be?  We know God has closed the door, but we can't seem to move away from it.  We just stand there, thinking of other ways to "make it happen."  Or maybe we think if we stand there long enough, God will feel sorry for us and open the door.  Who knows? 

Unfortunately, as long as we're standing there staring at the closed door, we're not doing anything else.  If God has closed the door, it's because He has something else for us to do.  So why aren't we doing it?  It's impossible for us to stand at one door and walk through another one at the same time.  We have to make a choice.  

Paul did.  He obeyed, and the Lord worked mightily through Him.  Don't we want the Lord to work that way in us?  He can, but it's going to require something on our part.  It will require obedience.  It will mean turning away from the closed door and walking toward the open one.  And if there isn't an open one, we're told to keep doing the last thing the Lord told us to do.  When the time is right, He'll open the proper doors.  And we'll be amazed at what's awaiting us on the other side!

Everything Is Going To Be Okay

Tippy, my 13-year-old beagle, is getting whiny in her old age.  She's never liked to be alone.  Wherever the people are, that's where she wants to be.  No matter if that's the kitchen, the bedroom or yes, even the bathroom.  She's not really all that sociable; she just doesn't like to be left alone.

As she's aged, however, she's become less mobile.  Her joints have stiffened.  Her muscles have weakened.  Overall, she just doesn't move as well as she used to.  This has made it particularly difficult for her to get up and down from the couch, and she's never been able to get on the bed by herself.  So when we leave a room, heaven help us all if we don't pick her up (or at least get her down) to go with us. 

Within a few minutes of leaving the room, we'll hear the first whimper.  This is quickly followed by another, a little louder and with a good bit more vehemence.  If that summons doesn't bring us to action soon enough, she'll break out the big guns.  You've never heard whines like the ones that can come from that little dog.  Passersby probably think she's being tortured.  It's downright pitiful.

As soon as one of us comes back to her or simply pokes a head in the room so that she knows we're there, she quiets down.  But as soon as we leave, she starts all over again.  This becomes most trying when I'm fixing dinner.  I prefer her to not be in the kitchen when I'm cooking because she doesn't understand how to stay out of the way, and most of the time, I end up stepping on her at least once during the process (which creates a totally new whine).  But the alternative is to listen to her cry from the living room because she can't see me, and she doesn't want to be alone.

I've found the best solution is to leave her on the couch and then to take breaks from my time in the kitchen.  I'll stop occasionally, go out and sit beside her on the couch.  As I stroke her fur, I try to soothe her with comforting words, usually something along the lines of "It's okay.  I'm right here.  You're not alone.  Everything's gonna be just fine."  After a few minutes, I go back to the kitchen, and when the whining becomes too incessant, I return to her side and offer my soothing words.  It's not the perfect solution, but it generally allows me to finish dinner without too much drama.

As I sat calming her a few days ago, my soothing words echoed in my ears and bounced around my brain.  At that particular moment, I felt like I needed calming more than Tippy did.  I was frustrated, overwhelmed, discouraged and downright frazzled.  But worse than that, I felt alone.  Did you know it's possible to feel alone even when you're surrounded by others?  You may not be alone, but you can certainly feel alone.  And I did.

I had spent the past week of trials and turmoil wondering where God had gone.  He was there, and then suddenly, it seemed that He was gone.  I couldn't see Him.  I couldn't hear Him.  I couldn't feel His presence.  And in His absence, I felt so alone.

But as I soothed Tippy, I knew the words were not my own.  I knew they weren't coming from me but rather that they were meant for me.  There and then, God spoke to my heart in His still, small voice,  "It's okay.  I'm right here.  You're not alone.  Everything's gonna be just fine."  And you know what?  He was right.  Did all my trials go away?  No, they're still here.  Did He work a miracle in my life?  Well, sort of.  What He did was remind me that I wasn't alone.  And His presence reinforced what my heart already knew--that He would never leave me.  Not even for a moment.

No matter what you're facing today, Jesus will face it with you.  You're not alone.  You have a Friend.  And He will never, ever leave you.  That's a fact!

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. - Isaiah 41:10