Voices From The Past

Voices From The Past -  Lisa U Maki


You hear them calling you. They shout out loud in your thoughts. You try to ignore them and even pacify them but they keep coming back. They return through your dreams, through other people, or just through random thoughts. It can get crazy sometimes. They sound so real yet you know it is a lie. They sound so familiar because these were voices you used to listen to.
These voices can sound any of these:
(To an ex-alcoholic) "You know you want to taste that alcohol again. It won't really harm you. You just need to do it in moderation".
(To an ex-smoker) "Don't you just miss puffing a cigarette when you are so stressed out"?
(To a single person wanting to keep pure) "It's lonely to be alone. Don't you just miss a touch from a man"?
(To someone who got away from a wrong relationship) "You miss him don't you. You can always go back to him".
(To an ex-porn addict) "A little glimpse won't hurt. I know you've been thinking of looking at that again. Just get it over with so it won't torture you".
(To someone who has a problem forgiving) "It hurts doesn't it? That jerk really deserves to die. You didn't deserve that".
These voices are meant to bring you back to your past or to just distract you. They will keep ringing in your ear until you learn to totally ignore it and gain total victory over it. And even after you have succeeded, it can return in the form of another familiar voice.
So you may ask, "What do I do with these voices then"?
My answer is: "Always use the Word of God against it to prove that it is a lie and the Word is the truth". Bear in mind too that each time you entertain these thoughts; you are giving it power over you. The more you linger in the thoughts, the more powerful it becomes. Then the voice becomes louder and louder until it beckons you and then you find yourself back to your past life. On the contrary, the more you say no to it and prove that it is a lie, the weaker it gets. Its voice will become fainter and fainter until you don't hear it anymore.
You are the only one who can give or take away the power of these voices over you. And your ability is not yours alone but comes from your obedience to the Word of God.
2 Corinthians 10:5 (The Amplified Bible) says:
[Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)...
Any thought that sets itself up against the knowledge of God should be led away captive into the obedience of Christ. In short, we should set our thoughts captive into the obedience of Christ.
The verse prior to this one says: For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds.
These voices from the past are more spiritual than physical in nature. It is part of the spiritual warfare that we have to fight. The verse above says that our weapons are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds.
I want you to take a note of that italicized phrase. First, our weapons are mighty before God. They are from God and are within our disposal. We have an entire armor from the Lord that we can use to fight these voices from the past. All we have to do is put this armor on. We have the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the sword which is the Word of God, the shield of faith, and the gospel of peace for our feet. We can't put this armor though just when we need it. We need to have it on, at all times.
Let me break this armor one by one in relation to fighting these voices from your past.
Your helmet of salvation is your weapon against your thoughts. It should remind you that you are a child of God, saved and redeemed by the blood of Jesus. You are not who you used to be. You died to your old life and resurrected to a life with Jesus.
Your breastplate of righteousness is your weapon against feelings. It should remind you that your righteousness is in Jesus. Without Him you are nothing. Without Him you can easily fall and go back to your past. This should make you hold on to Jesus all the more. It should make you cling to Him like a leech most especially during times of attacks.
Your belt of truth secures your sword which is why it is very important. Both the belt of truth and the sword represent the Word of God. This is your ultimate weapon against these voices. By speaking the truth, which is God's Word, you kill the voices, which are lies.
You need your shield of faith to block off these voices. Using your sword without your shield will never work. This means that speaking the Word of God without total faith over it will never work. Use these together and you will win.
Finally, your weapon for your feet is the gospel of peace. It is peace that secures your stance, which secures every weapon you have. These voices are meant to distract you and make you lose your peace. So you need to make sure that you keep that peace. Philippians 4 talks about having this peace that surpasses all understanding. And the key to having this peace is to have a spirit of thanksgiving and gratitude at all times. Another key to staying in peace is found in Isaiah 26:3... God will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are stayed on Him.
Now let's go back to those italicized phrase above... our weapons are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds.
These weapons are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds.
The voices that you hear from your past are strongholds. They used to keep you in bondage. They used to be your gods. They are haunting you because they want you back. They want to take hold of you and control you once again.
According to minecraftwiki.net, strongholds are structures that occur naturally underground. They contain multiple rooms, corridors, stairs, doors and other aspects.
What is being described here is a physical stronghold. The strongholds that we are warring against are not physical, yet they are very similar to what is being pictured here.
Ephesians 6:12 says: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Just as the physical stronghold contains multiple rooms, we are warring against several levels in the hierarchy of satan's demonic realm. And the Word of God says that His weapons are mighty for the overthrow and destruction of these strongholds. Hallelujah!
So... stop sitting there, pondering over these voices from the past. Stop wasting your time trying to figure out what is going on in your mind. Put on your whole armor and fight the war. This is the only way you can silence those voices.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_U_Maki  Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7363191




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