Who Are You Listening To?

This post is born out of my need to check myself - who am I listening to?

I'm not talking about actually listening to music or sermons. Mostly, what voices pop into my head when making a decision, when living life. The voice of fear "what if I fail", "what will others think of me"? The voice of default "it's always done this way, don't change it up"?, the voice of discouragement "you will never amount to anything", "you are not worth much"?

I think the greatest hindrance to obeying the Holy Spirit is not our inability to hear Him, but letting the other opinions (untruths) skew our path. For those who have followed Christ for a long time, it may be the opinion of other Christians you hold in high regard. For the new, it could be our past that does not let to easily, the voices that tell us we cannot change, you will not be able to break the cycle of sin. Praise God we can do NOTHING on our own, Christ already paid the debt, and He continually quickens us in His ways. So He not only initially saves, but redeems and sustains. He does not leave us as orphans. We have the Holy Spirit, always with us, speaking Gods Truth in our hearts.

And even as I write that, I know I don't always live on that Truth.

Instead, I think, what will others think of me? Will they look down on our family's choices? Will I look foolish? Will I appear a failure? Will I appear not committed? Sometimes it's like being a teenager all over again. The insecurity, the need for acceptance, the awkwardness of being different, or discomfort of maybe sticking out.

For me, this concerns a certain decision having to do with homeschooling. It's not a huge one, but it could be. Others could view my decision as something else, but I know it's a wise one. The Lord put it on my heart a while ago. And I need to follow through because its what's best for my kids, so thankful my husband is on board and he's my biggest supporter. So grateful he listens to me with ears wide open, no judgment, no condemnation.

It really helps to have someone like that in your life. Someone to lean on. Someone you know who is not easily swayed by what others think.

Next time you need to make a decision and you ask yourself "what will others think"...remember- what has God called you to? Can you not trust Him that He will see it through? He is big enough to handle it. And the purpose is to bring Him glory anyway, not maintain our 'good reputation'.

People are masters at making us feel weird for making a choice that goes against the flow, but they are wimps. Yes, it's dumb to make waves just to make a personal statement, but when we are doing it for the best cause ever, Jesus, there's not need to second guess.