Do You Hear Voices?

Every now and then, I'll hear a song that just makes me nod my head and say, "Yep, that's me!"  One such song is "The Voice of Truth."  It speaks of trying to funnel out the myriad of voices calling out to us and to focus on the only voice that matters:  God's voice.

I've been thinking about that song a lot this week. The thought process began earlier in the week when Jason was reading through some of the funny t-shirt sayings he found on a website.  Many of them referred to "the voices in my head."  One of my favorites was "Four of the five voices in my head recommend chocolate."  Of course, if I were really going to own that shirt, it would need to read, "Five of the five voices in my head recommend chocolate."  Anyway, there were several comical sayings about the voices.  I laughed at each one, but inside I was cringing a little.  I do hear voices!  I hear them all the time, and some of them are not nice at all.

The voice I hear most often is the voice that Karen Scalf Linamen calls "the inner Eeyore".  You remember Eeyore, right?  The donkey from Winnie the Pooh.  No matter how beautiful the day or how bright the circumstances, we could always count on Eeyore to be gloomy. . . just like my inner Eeyore.  You might have an inner Eeyore too.  Do any of these statements sound familiar?

* You just can't do anything right, can you?
* Face it, you're never going to get it all done.
* Yes, this is as good as it gets, so forget trying to enjoy it and just endure it.
* It's too late to make changes in your life.
* You don't have what it takes to make your dreams come true.
* You'll always be broke.
* You'll never feel better, so get used to it.
* You're fat, unorganized, undisciplined and unmotivated.

Oh, did I see a few heads nodding?  So I'm not the only one who hears voices, huh?  It's tough to admit it, I know.  After all, if we start talking about the voices in our heads, we might end up in padded rooms, right?  But I think it's important to acknowledge this inner Eeyore.  Why?  Because if we acknowledge that it's there, we might be able to start making progress toward getting rid of it, or at the very least, ignoring it.

Motivational and health coaches worldwide will tell you the importance of motivating statements.  These are sentences that you repeat to yourself over and over again throughout the day to help you stay on track in your motivational and/or health program.  Why is this necessary?  Because many of us have our minds filled with inner Eeyore thoughts, and it's imperative that we start focusing on positive thoughts that will empower and motivate us.  Some coaches provide motivating statements for their clients, while others suggest the clients come up with their own.  As Christians, we have it easy.  God is our coach, and He's provided an entire book full of motivating statements.  No matter what our inner Eeyore throws at us, we have a positive voice to listen to instead.

When the inner Eeyore says, "you're just going around in circles; you'll never get anywhere," the Voice of Truth says, "And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."

When the inner Eeyore declares, "nobody cares about you; you're all alone," the Voice of Truth promises, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

When the inner Eeyore criticizes, "you're pathetic," the Voice of Truth compliments, "You are fearfully and wonderfully made."

Oh yes, there are definitely voices in my head.  My inner Eeyore joins forces with Satan's minions, and the battle is on.  And to be honest, sometimes it's get hard to determine which voice is which.  I know I should listen to God's voice, but sometimes it's so drowned out by the other voices that I can't determine what He's telling me.  Thankfully, I have His Word, so even when I can't think straight, I can read His promises and determine His will.  It's pretty hard to truly read His Word and listen to other voices at the same time.  Yes, as He promised, He has made a way of escape for us, but it's up to us to make use of it.

Eeyore!  He's a cute little fellow and admittedly one of my favorite Winnie the Pooh characters.  But let's make every effort to keep him out of our thoughts.  He has no business being there "glooming the place up."

If you're looking for some great motivational statements from the Word of God, you can find them in my book, There's a Verse for That.