Whom will you believe?

It's one of the hardest things in the world, not listen to someone when they are jabbering in your ear and you are trying to concentrate on something else. We try to focus on the task at hand but all the while, aware of that annoying background twittering which we can't help but strain to catch a few words or phrases here and there.

I know, this happens often to me as I work in an open-plan office. I miss the days of having little offices with a small group of people. Open-plan means noise can circulate.

However, as I've been working in open-plan offices a while now, I have noticed something. If I fully concentrate on a task, I can block the background chatter out. It is possible. If you really put all your energy into focusing your mind on what is in front of you, you can tune out the discussion taking place five desks down, the messenger coming in with more files but talking about the problems with the lift, the receptionist dealing with a difficult caller. When I've truly been "in the zone", my boss has to all but wave his hands in my face to get my attention.

Well, it's like that with God and the devil. God tells us He is for us and not against us. He tells us He loves us and sent His Son to die in our place, to take the punishment that was rightfully ours and lay it on Jesus instead so that, when we repent of our sins, God can forgive us because of Jesus' sacrifice and we can have relationship with Him.

But obviously this isn't what satan wants us to hear. He will tell us that God doesn't exist, a figment of our imagination, that only children believe in such fairy tales and certainly not intelligent people.
If that doesn't work and we have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour, then satan tries another tactic and he can be very successful with this one.

He tells us that our sin is too great, that we aren't really sorry and actually, even if we are, God just doesn't forgive that sin because it's too awful, or we've done it too many times. Either way, the devil just whispers constantly those words that say we have done it this time and God no longer wants anything to do with us. We've failed Him for the last time and we are on our own - He's washed His hands of us.

Yes I am, once again, speaking from personal experience. There is that awful moment when you wonder if you actually have a conscience left, has it been seared beyond repair? Then, when you gratefully realise that isn't the case (and trust me, I am grateful my conscience is still working. Thank the Lord for giving us a conscience, when that goes or we stop listening to it, we really are in deep trouble!), you weep as you realise the extent of your sin, how you've fallen and just what this means.

Do we sometimes forget how God views sin? I recommend a reading of the Bible for God's perspective on it. It is sobering, to say the least and really I think it's important to know exactly what repentance is in the light of God's views on sin.

But having done that, what next? Well, 1 John 1 v 9 says "But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away."

You know, I have struggled to believe this. This is where the concentration becomes an issue and that twittering in the background can start to really affect us, we catch more of the words and phrases being used by the liar. The whispering voice tells me that I've been doing the same thing and keep saying sorry then doing it again. God can't forgive me, what I am doing is a mockery and I should just quit disappointing God and myself and terminate this relationship. I can't possibly keep God's high standards and I only set myself up for failure time and again. Viewed from today's culture and human perspective, the above sentiments seem like sensible advice. "Just accept that this is how it's going to be and move on. You can't help that you have this problem and you do so well in so many other areas, God is surely a bit unrealistic in His expectations that you will be perfect."

STOP RIGHT THERE! That kind of thinking, that kind of whispering is straight from hell and will lead you to a path of despair, destruction and, ultimately, death. Whom are you going to believe?
A snake that used to be an angel of light, who was thrown out of Heaven for being a prideful,selfish liar and who has always hated humanity and longs for nothing more than our destruction? Or do we believe and listen to God, our Creator, Him who gave us life in the first place, who gave us self-determination, who, when we were making a mess of things, didn't even withhold His own Son's life but gave Jesus up willingly for us so that He could remain Holy and righteous and yet still have relationship with us? But not just any relationship, He wants us as His children, He has adopted us!

Whom are you going to believe? You know what my thoughts were finally on this subject, as I battled the voice, that irritating, evil whisperer? As always, God's Word really does have an answer for everything. Jesus used it against the devil in the desert so why do we think it would be different for us?

I remembered the following, it popped into my head as I was beginning to lose the battle mentally -
John 6 v 67-69
"67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” 68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God."

Whom else will I go to except the only One who can set me free from the besetting sin? Whom else will give me hope? Whom else can see me through the dark times and lead me to better choices in the future? Only God, only the Holy one of God!

Whom will you believe today?