Recently some friends and I were talking about that "shoulder" advice. The whispers you get in your ears. Oftentimes, it's not about a decision you're about to make, but rather just continuous badgering about our frailties.
Let me give you an example. One friend said she'd sent a message to a relative. The relative didn't respond to several texts and phone calls. So it got her thinking: "I wonder what's wrong? Did I say something wrong? Did I do something wrong? Why wouldn't they accept my calls or respond to texts?"
As you've probably guessed, the family member's phone had stopped working. They didn't dislike the other person, didn't think they'd done anything wrong at all. They just had a faulty piece of technology.
So where did the thoughts come from that brought my friend to this place of doubt, paranoia, frustration, disappointment, etc?
I'm going to go with the demon on the shoulder. Okay, that may be too cartoonish or comical for you, but is it really beyond possibility? Think about it. What better way to distract someone in a perfectly fine relationship than to whisper all those ridiculous things above.
I'm pretty convinced that is one of Satan and his army of demon's greatest weapons ... whispered deception. Let's face it, Christ himself called Satan the "father of lies" (John 8:44). He prowls around looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). So naturally, the demons are hovering around us all day long looking for kinks in our spiritual armor to whisper to our weaknesses.
"Can you believe that person is behaving like that?" "What did he just say about you?" "You can't trust them." "That is never going to work." "You look terrible." Relentless, continuous. You've heard them, surely.
I told a friend recently we should probably give them names: Fear, Disappointment, Confusion, Doubt, etc. If we would identify those crazy thoughts as they're happening as the enemy whispering, we could do a little rebuking, say the name of Jesus out loud, recite some Scripture (our one spiritual weapon) and start putting these demons in their place.
It takes a little work to get to that place where we recognize those thoughts as the demon badgering they are. And being continuously in the Word helps us identify them. None of us is immune from the whispers. Even Jesus dealt with it after 40 days of fasting in the wilderness prior to starting his ministry. And he rebuked the devil with Scripture every single time. He is our example.
My accountability group is one of the best discerners of those whispers. When we share our challenges and struggles with each other, we can identify the lies Satan is whispering and move forward in strength. I pray you have someone who helps you in those times.
We have an enemy we can't see daily waging war against us. But beautifully, we have a Champion that we can't see either, that has armed us with the most powerful weapon there is. And he already has the victory.
Who are you going to listen to today?
