The spiritual battle that wages around us is often played out through the voices in our head. Every day we face a constant barrage of nonstop conversation within our own mind and it can be hard to discern which voice to listen to and which one we should disregard. How do we know when its God speaking to us, when it’s the devil, and when it is simply our own thoughts? The constant tension between the voices is a source of great consternation for most of us. Fortunately, it’s a lot simpler than you think to sort out who’s got the microphone at any given moment.
Satan is referred to in scripture as “the accuser” and the “father of lies” (Revelation 12:10; John 8:44). Any time you hear accusatory thoughts in your head, you should immediately know their source. Satan loves to whisper things like these: “Why did you do that?”, “You’re so stupid”, “You’ll never be good enough”, “Who do you think you are?”, “You’ll never amount to anything”, and “What makes you think you can succeed?” Negative, deprecating, and discouraging thoughts always come from Satan. His goal is to convince you that you are not now, and never will be, the person God created you to be.
In contrast, the Holy Spirit is referred to as our “counselor”, a word that is also translated as “comforter” or “encourager” (John 14:16). He will convict you when you’ve sinned, but He will never browbeat you or rub it in your face. Instead He’ll say things like, “I understand. I know the temptations and struggles you are going through. It’s hard. I know your heart and how you want to serve Me. Turn away from this and allow My power to see you through.” Jesus never accuses you or attempts to mislead you with lies. He has no need to convince you that you are anything other than who He created you to be.
When we align our thoughts with those of God and see ourselves as He sees us, our own self-talk will mimic what He says about us. In the same way, when we pursue selfish desires our internal conversations will line up with the words of Satan. We will follow one or the other; there is no alternate choice. We will either align ourselves with God or against Him (Matthew 12:30). Our allegiance determines which voice gets the most air time in our head.
It’s not hard to discern the voices in your head. Whatever is pure and good, useful for building you up, is from God. Whatever is selfish and discouraging, serving no purpose but to tear you down, is from Satan. It is up to each of us to decide which voice we will allow to speak the loudest. We decide who gets the microphone. There will always be a battle for control of our hearts and minds. Victory begins with recognizing what voice we are allowing to dominate our thoughts. Don’t believe the lies and the accusations. Trust and believe that God has equipped you to do everything for which He created you.