He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:11-13 ESV)
Who are you listening to? Who or what we listen to can change the trajectory of our life. Look at case study #1: Adam and Eve. They were living the life! They were in daily fellowship with God and lived in the perfect environment with all their needs met. Life could not have been any better for them. And then with one decision to listen to someone other than God, their perfect life came crashing down, never to be the same again. Changing the trajectory of not only their lives but every person to come after them.
God’s Voice vs. Other Voices
God was very specific with them about the trees they could eat from and the one tree they were to avoid. And they listened to God until another voice came along and sowed confusion which then led to deception. Seeds of doubt about God and His ability to provide the best were planted in Adam and Eve’s mind with this one question: “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). Seeds that were then watered with the lie: “You will not surely die.” (Genesis 3:4). Which then gave birth to the deception that they “will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). The deception that has plagued the human race ever since. All because of who they chose to listen to.
So who are you listening to? Have you allowed God to be the voice in your life that guides you? Are you seeking Him when you are unsure of the direction you are to go? When you have choices to make, who are you turning to for help? Are you seeking out the world’s point of view which is in line with the same voice that deceived Adam and Eve to believe that they could do life without God because they could be God themselves?
Everyday we are faced with opportunities to choose the voices we will listen to. In those quiet moments when we are unsure of ourselves, we can listen to those voices that say we are nothing, that we don’t matter and we have no purpose in this world. Those voices may be internal but can also come from those around us who are used by the enemy in his plan to steal, kill and destroy us (John 10:10). In those moments, we need to have ready the Word of God to counteract the lies he still uses to this day to deceive us.
Defeating the Father of Lies
The father of lies (John 8:44) is still busy today seeking to deceive us and distract us from the life God has for us. But God has given us the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” as our weapon to fight the father of lies (Ephesians 6:17). Look at how Jesus used it as he faced the devil’s temptations in the desert. Every time the devil threw a temptation his way, Jesus counteracted it by saying, “It is written…”. He used God’s word to defeat the lies Satan was spewing. Oh and by the way Satan also used scripture in his argument to deceive Jesus. Anyone can take the word and distort it from its original meaning to use it for their benefit. Didn’t Satan do just that with Adam and Eve in the garden? Satan, the father of lies, the father of distorting the word of God. He is still at it today.
And if Jesus used God’s word to fight the enemy, I can’t think of any other better example to follow when we come up against voices that seek to steal, kill and destroy us. There will always be voices seeking to influence us and distract us from the paths God has for us. Never doubt that! We must be ready for the enemy’s tactics to get us off track to change the trajectory of our lives. We are not alone in this battle to discern the voices around us and their purposes. Besides the word of God, we also have the Spirit of truth who will guide us to see what is true and what is not (John 16:13). So let’s be careful of who and what we are listening to so that we may not be confused, deceived and miss out on the abundant life Jesus has for us.
Considerations 