By: Steve Wilmot
Edgerton, Ohio
Last fall, as I scurried to wrap up all the preparations my lawn, landscaping, and garden required for winter, I listened to my playlist of Oldies I’d saved in Amazon Music on my phone. One of my all-time favorites started — “The Voice of Truth.” The second verse drew me in.
But the giant’s calling out my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times I’ve tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me, time and time again
“Boy you’ll never win! No, you’ll never win!”
But the voice of truth, tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, “Do not be afraid!”
The voice of truth says, “This is for my glory”
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth
God didn’t have to inform my giant, who mockingly reminds me of all my failures to slay him, is a sin I’ve contended with for many years. I already knew that. What God exposed to me was that I’ve grown deaf to the Voice of Truth. I’ve listened to the voice of the giant and begun to believe his propaganda.
The giant reminds me of my past. My history of failure to overcome this sin for good, despite how hard I’ve tried. He tells me I’ll struggle with it until I die.
That only when I’m dead and go to heaven, where all temptation ceases, will I find complete victory over it. Until then, I’ll just have to live with it and do the best I can to limit it.
But that’s the voice of the giant, not the Voice of Truth. Has it ever crossed your mind that not every thought you think comes from you?
Satan plants lies in our minds and disguises them as our own. So, we never question whether they are lies or the truth. It’s ingenious, really.
He lies to us all the time. Yet we never stop to say, “Wait a minute… who else is speaking here? Where are these ideas coming from? Where are those feelings coming from?”
It could be the giant reminding me of all the times I’ve tried before and failed. Megan Woods, in her song “Truth,” asks, “How many times can you hear the same lie before you start to believe it?”
But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story. A story of rescue and hope. A story of victory and deliverance. A story of freedom and the power to overcome.
Jesus is the Voice of Truth. “I am… the truth” (John 14.6). The Word of God is the Voice of Truth. Jesus declared, “Your word is truth” (John 17.17).
When thoughts cross your mind, how do you know if it’s the voice of the giant lying to you, or the Voice of Truth? Simple. Ask yourself: Does this thought sound like something Jesus said? Does it line up with what the Bible declares?
If it passes both tests, it’s the Voice of Truth. Listen and believe it. If it doesn’t, reject it and put it out of your mind. Replace it with the Voice of Truth.
If you knew someone who always told the truth and never lied, not even once, you’d believe everything he said, wouldn’t you? Even things that are hard to believe? I know such a Person.
God has been speaking for thousands of years, and yet he’s never lied. He always tells the truth. So why wouldn’t you choose to believe him and break free from the lies that have taken you captive and stripped you of any hope of victory over your giant?
That fall afternoon in my front yard, I chose to switch channels and quit allowing the mocking taunts and hope-crushing lies of the giant to influence me any longer.
I chose to listen to the Voice of Truth. To believe what God tells me about the sin that has weighed me down for a long time. To face my giant with confidence, God will go before me to fight for me and give me victory.
Since that day, it’s amazing how that sin has lost much of its power over me. I’m experiencing break-through. I can see light at the end of a tunnel that had been so dark for so long.
Like me, you have giants bombarding you from every direction and at all hours of the day and night with lies. Trying to intimidate you and persuade you to believe you’ll never win. To convince you to give up and give in.
They are not your friends. They want to destroy you and keep you from enjoying the life God has planned for you.
You can change that. Choose right now to listen and believe the Voice of Truth.
Steve Wilmot is a former Edgerton, Ohio area pastor who now seeks “to still bear fruit in old age” through writing. He is the author of seven books designed to assist believers to make steady progress on their spiritual journey.