The voice you listen most often too determines your direction. The direction you walk in most frequently determines your destination. The destination at which you arrive becomes your life. So let’s walk this backward for a minute and finish where I just began: what voice do you listen to the most?
Most of us recognize that we have an inner voice which we listen to all day long. Nobody talks with you more than you. The language and accent of your inner voice is cultivated by the influences which you allow in your mind. You and I are constantly bombarded with potential sources of influence which we give permission to influence our view of ourselves, others, life and, most importantly, God. Is it any wonder that Jesus Christ is given the title “the Word” and is also called “Alpha & Omega” which are the first letters of the Greek alphabet? God desires to frame up our thinking by His own voice. He wants us to speak his language. He desires us to develop our thinking based on what He says. God calls us to reject anything that rivals His own voice in our lives because He is committed to determining our direction, our destination and, ultimately, the substance of our lives.
So Satan wants to talk to you more loudly and more frequently than God. All he needs is your cooperation in listening to the lies he tells. Let’s see how this plays out in young David’s life as God mad motivated him to fight the formidable foe, Goliath, in the valley. David shows up on the battle scene and sees that nobody has the courage to fight Goliath. David, frankly, is disgusted at the fear consuming the others so he commits to take out that “uncircumcised Philistine”. As soon as David begins to align himself with God’s mission, the enemy starts talking through three different people. Satan is the accuser – David’s accuser and yours also. He defeats by intimidation, lies and threats. Watch how he works and how he uses key people in our lives to dishearten us from listening to God. Here’s how it played out for David as he sought to embrace God’s destiny for him in 1st Samuel 17:
- Accusation #1: Who Do You Think You Are? (17:28) – “Eliab his eldest brother: “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
The Lie: You are selfishly motivated. You are only fit for the small things like watching lambs, not for the big things like fighting giants. You are way out of your league and need to know your place. Turn around. Go home. Nobody wants you here.
- Accusation #2: You Are Outmatched (33) – “Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him for you are but a youth and he has been a man of war from his youth.”
The Lie: You cannot beat this enemy. History is on his side. Nobody ever comes away from a fight like this as the winner. Goliath has never lost. You simply do not have what it takes.
- Accusation #3: You Have No Clue What You Are Doing In This Challenge (43a) – “And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?”
The Lie: You are under-resourced; you are Ill-equipped; you are unskilled; you are poorly prepared. Sometimes we will be tempted to look upon what is missing and forget what we have been granted. It’s not what you have in your hand, it is Who lives in your heart.
- Accusation #4: You Are Not Spiritual Enough To Win (43b) – “And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.”
The Lie: God will not come through. Goliath invoked multiple names of his nation’s deities. It was their gods against David’s God. David could have believed he was not spiritually ready for this type of fight. He could have felt very alone at that moment.
- Accusation #5: This Is Going To End Very Badly For You (44) – “The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.”
The Lie: A projection and declaration of certain defeat. Others tell you that you cannot overcome. What you see communicates to you that you will not win. All you hear raises new levels of fear in your heart.
All of the accusation and opposition came from men who outranked David in some way. One was his eldest brother – his unsupportive family. Another was the mighty king of the land, Saul – high level human authority. The third was the opponent himself, Goliath, who was visually intimidating, absolutely confident and had a previously undefeated record. That’s right, Goliath had never lost a fight before he encountered David. That all changed in a 60 second battle as you will remember that David ignored all these accusations and ran toward Goliath as he shouted glory to God. He slung one stone that toppled the best that the Philistines had to offer and then David severed Goliath’s head from his neck. David won when nobody believed that he could or would. David only listened to God in that pivotal moment of his young life. This slaying of the giant is an unapologetic, in your face, slam-dunk of a moment! It never would have happened if David had listened to the wrong voices. So, again, to whom are you listening most of all?
Don’t let your history intimidate you out of your destiny. David didn’t and it brought momentum to a whole army who were emboldened by David’s display of courage and initiated David’s fame as the glorious leader of Israel. The boy who killed the giant would later become the man who ruled on the throne – a throne once occupied by Saul who told David that he could never win the battle. Sometimes God sets you up to be the first one to conquer giants that nobody else will even dare to fight. None believed in David but David was not knocked off course by them or their words. The giant ended up falling and David was elevated by God.
The only voice we should listen to is the Lord as He speaks to each individual. In this day and age of changes and as we progress into the
future it is so important to listen to our Heavenly Father. ONLY!