You know that stage babies go through at different ages when all they want is mama? Or maybe they only want daddy. If anyone else tries to pick them up or hold them they scream, cry, hold their breath, and absolutely refuse anything offered them until Mama rescues them from this strange person (even if the person is their own grandmother).
The thought crossed my mind- What if we did that when satan tries to tempt us? When he tries to get his hands on our life. What if we ran at the first sight of evil? What if we turned toward Jesus, ran screaming and didn't stop until we got Him?
So if we are going to run from strangers like a toddler screaming for his mommy, how do we know who to run from? And where to run to?
In John 10:4-5 Jesus says, when referring to His sheep, "And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
To flee from the voice of strangers means we must know the voice of Jesus so well that we can instantly recognize when it isn't Him speaking to us. If we make ourselves familiar with the voice of our Good Shepherd, all other voices will sound like strangers. Anxiety, fear, depression, these are some familiar voices in our world. Let's choose to make those voices strangers. Not that we should ignore them- ignoring a situation does not change the fact that it is still there, but when we hear the voice of fear we can choose not to recognize it as the voice we follow.
The only way to do this successfully is to familiarize ourselves with the word of God, and to spend time in prayer. Our pastors, and our mentors, and friends can tell us all day long what the voice of God sounds like; but unless we take time to learn it for ourselves we will not be prepared when satan tries to deceive us.
When anxiety tells us to worry, we will know Jesus says, "Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?" When fear tells us to doubt, we will know God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love and power and a sound mind. When depression asks us what is the point of life? We can hear Jesus saying, "I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly."
Take a moment to consider, what voice are you listening to in your life? What voices are you making strangers?
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