I hear Voices.
Do you hear voices?
I am on vacation and have taken some time away from blogging to visit relatives but thought I stick my head in blogworld to say hello.
It is interesting spending time with family and old friends for I hear the echo from the voices of the past reminding me of who I am or who I am not.
What voices do you believe?
What if all the voices that attempt to tell you who you are or who you are not are wrong?
Today I spent time with a young man reminding him of who he is as a person. That he is valued and loved by God, not for what he does, but for who he is. He had just come from work where an employee attempted to tear him apart using voice as an instrument of destruction.
How do we silence the voices of fear, hurt, and abuse so that we can hear the Voice that calls out in love reminding of us of our belovedness? How can we hear the Voice of Love when the voice of destruction often seems so much louder or when the voice of hurt is tragically repeated?
We need to be reminded daily of who we are. We need to surround ourselves with people who build us up, not tear us down. We need to remind oursleves daily who we are, that we are created in the image of a loving God and that God sees us as good. We have to listen to the voice deep in our soul where our hopes and dreams impregnate our heart with new life.
What Voice are you listening to? The Voice of Love who wants to give you life or the voice of hurt that wants to take away life?
Perhaps the real question is what voice do you believe? God I want to believe, please help my unbelief.
My experience is, if the voice takes life it is not of God. If the voice gives life it is from God.
I hear voices... we all hear voices.
I pray that God will give me the wisdom and grace to chose life and to believe the Voice of Love.
12 Comments:
I've learned that no-one lashes out at us from a heart filled with peace, love and joy. They lash out at us from the place of their pain and woundedness, their brokeness and the raw, jagged wound of their heart.
Seeing beyond the knife-edged words to the brokeness beneath is the single most loving thing any of us can do in those situations, and perhaps one of the most liberating and Christ-affirming things as well.
Great Post!!!! Hope you're vacation continues to be a good one!!!
Glad you checked it -- I was starting to wonder if you were okay. Vacation is definitely a good reason to check out of blogging for a bit.
Your post is getting copied, in part anyway, to my blog...it fits beautifully with the dissertation-to-be topic that I want to his when and if I ever get into a PhD program: How do we become who we are? Broad, I know...I'm working on it still. ;)
Yesterday, I met up with a friend of mine from college, and it was great fun to visit and reminisce, and talk about how we became ourselves. For me, I had to let go not only of negative voices, but of very positive voices (think: family) who were just a bit misguided. It's taken me until my 30s to finally get on the right track, but what a relief!
Hi Rick,
Beautiful post indeed. I too shared your words at easily amazed along with Rabbi Marc Gafni's words on soul prints.
Blessings on your travels,
Ashley
I have been hearing voices for years...Turns out I am crazy. but then again, so was David, Isaiah, John, Paul and all the others.
the other things are hear are not outside voices, but the voices of my own desire. we sometime forget that temptation and self destructive words come from our own hearts.
i wish I could blame it on some one else...
A reminder I need OFTEN because I tend to listen to the wrong voices and allow them to affect me. I can discern the difference between the Voice of Love and that of Destruction, but I am sometimes weak and allow myself to be tormented. Thanks.
Have a great rest of your vacation!!
I've also found it very helpful to make at least twenty or thirty minutes a day of "quality time with yourself." In the morning or evening. It was always worth getting up a little early for that for me.
Whether it's contemplative prayer, meditation, or just sitting to quietly look out the window and sip coffee, it can be a clear-headed time of experiencing our relationship to our greater reality, however we conceive of it, with less interference from those other voices. And a calming time.
this is such an important piece because we need to really discern whether the voices are *real* or not.
sometimes, it's easy. other times? not so.
(this was especially poignant to me as i have a son who hears voices but, praise God, has a wonderful doctor and really good medications that keep them at bay...that and a praying mom and a devout faith himself...)
I'm with many of your commenters - first with [rwk], knowing that people who lash out are spiritually sick - just like me.
And I've come, like Jeff, to accept that I'm crazy, and that is as good as it may get, in some ways. But, like the central character in "A Beautiful Mind," I can choose to let the voices be, and not buy into their insanity (when that's what they are pushing), but answer the call to love and community (when that is their message).
The struggle continues to be, "What voices sound most like God - and why do I think that way about them?" I'm glad I've got folks like you, Rick, who help me find my way through that minefield.
Enjoy your time away...
We are all inundated with voices; it is up to us to discern truth from fiction. Voices from parents, peers, politicians, power mongers,or flatterers, whether family or friends can be so deceptive. Truth comes from God. If these voice conflict with HIS Word, then it is not truth, and I refuse to be taken in by them.
Thanks for being a catalyst to help me think on these things.
One of the voices I have truly appreciated as I am maturing is a rebuke. I have come to recognize and deeply appreciate those as a valuable gift. Rebukes are given by people who actually care enough to confront us about our spiritual attitude or behavior. People who don't care about us deeply, can't be bothered! I don't ever want to shirk confrontation. Then I won’t benefit and receive the sharpening needed. Important pruning yields improved production! So, I listen to the voices, evaluate them,and assimilate what the Holy Spirit reveals that I need to hear! Most of all it is my desire to obey the Voice of the Lord through His Word and whomever He chooses to send it, whether I like the messenger or not.
But the Voice of Truth
Tells me a different story
The Voice of Truth
Says, "Do not be afraid;"
And the Voice of Truth
Says, "This is for My glory;"
Out of all the voices calling out to me,
I will choose to listen
and believe
the Voice of Truth....
__casting crowns, 'voice of truth'
surrounding ourselves with yes (wo)men is also unhealthy
We need encouragement, but we also need honesty in love.
It's hard to take criticism sometimes, but if the motives are right then it's one of the most precious gifts a friend can give. That said encouragement is important and we are to build each other up - in a Godly way.
He came to help us life live to the full. Time to go out and do it :)
Be blessed
Post a Comment
<< Home