WHO SHOULD I LISTEN TO?

Isaiah 30:21 “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

As we begin each day of our lives, we all have decisions to make. Some are easy and some are difficult. And there are many voices competing for our attention and our loyalty. Some decisions are easy, no-contest sort of questions. Others are much bigger and take days, weeks, months, or even years of searching and questioning. Competing voices pull us in different directions. We want to do what’s right, but what’s right isn’t always so clear.

I better finish this project today and meet that deadline.
- Tomorrow will be good enough, I work too hard.

I really shouldn’t do this; it doesn’t seem ethical and honest.
- It’s just my integrity. Besides, no one will know.

Mom always said I shouldn’t do this.
- Maybe I hold my convictions too tightly. Go ahead, it feels right.

Who are you listening to? It was easy to see what I thought was right in those situations, but often life doesn’t paint it so black and white. And even after we make a decision, we sometimes continue to wonder if it was the right one, we have knots in our stomach, and we wonder if we’ve missed some piece of evidence. How can we have peace in our decisions? It all boils down to who we’re listening to. But knowing how to listen can sometimes be difficult.

Sometimes we think God has a perfect blueprint for our lives and we have to figure out what it is and then do it. We look at circumstances and follow the open doors. Taking our circumstance into consideration is important, but if that’s all we do, we leave out the voice of God.

The flip-side of this extreme is the idea that we can simply immerse ourselves in scripture and then we can use our powers of reasoning to apply this wisdom to our lives. God gave us our powers of reasoning, and we ought to use them, but again, if this is all we do, we leave out listening to God. Either of these options will bring us to a decision, but if we don’t listen to God during times of decision, we won’t have his peace in the answer.

Hearing God’s voice isn’t always easy. It takes a lot of work. In order to hear God’s voice, it might be helpful first to know how to recognize the false voices that speak to us. The false voices are in this world, and so we need to be careful who we listen to. They may masquerade as teachers, acquaintances, or friends. They seek to be the authority in our decisions, whether overtly or covertly. But these false teachers can lead us down the wrong path if we are not careful who we listen to. Does the guidance we receive fall in line with scriptural teaching or not? Does the life of our guide show evidence of knowing Christ? Have we set our minds to knowing the difference? This is where our God-given powers of reasoning, mixed with prayer, can be very helpful.

The false voices in the world often are not reprehensible to us. They entice, they are attractive. The type of wickedness a Christian is likely to fall into isn’t the obvious wrong things – at least not right away. If someone asked you out-rightly to kill the person standing next to you or rob the corner store, your likely answer would be no. But the wicked entice – they tempt, persuade, and charm. And when you feel like you’re in too deep, they ask more of you, and it is harder and harder to refuse. That is why we must test the spirits – for sometimes their origin is not immediately obvious.

Choosing the best isn’t always an easy decision. It takes prayer; it takes courage; it takes faith. We need to be in constant communication with God so that we can recognize the false voices, and know how to choose the best given the circumstances we find ourselves in. We need to take time to shut out the voices of the world and take time to pray. It is then and only then, that we can discern the essential and know God’s peace in our time of decision.