“I failed, again.”
You’ve heard that line whispered in your ear, right? It comes from Satan, aka the “Voice Villain.”
We know that despite our best-laid plans, setbacks are inevitable. But they still produce angst, extreme doubt about our self-worth, and muddle our relationships in life. Yep, fear of failure is not easy to accept, especially when God tells us NOT TO FEAR 365 times in the Bible!
Instead of not fearing, we are more likely to start believing the whispered lies from the voice villain.
There is a war going on in our minds, with two forces vying for control of the way we think. God says: “My Spirit remains among you. Do not fear” Haggai 2:5.
But the voice villain is a slippery and tough opponent. He wants us to pay attention to him and believe that failure is the only option and to keep us from connecting with the knowledge of God and his truth.
We are all subject to these opposing voices that, on the one hand, tell us to do something, but, on the other hand, defeat us in our attempts. Persevering through these setbacks depends on our ability to ignore the voice villain and turn our attention back to God and the promises in his Word.
The Enemy wants us to wallow in shame and defeat, but God wants us to claim the promises that move us forward with confidence. The voice villain jumps on any opportunity to drop us—a job loss, a romantic failur
e, the death of a loved one, a financial crisis, whatever.
But he cannot win if we choose to ignore his negative whispers in favor of God’s life-giving affirmations. When we hear accusations like, “You aren’t a real Christian,” or “If you were good, you wouldn’t have done that,” or “You’ll never make it to spiritual maturity,” we can be very sure this confusion comes from the Enemy—the Voice Villain.
The voice villain does not stop talking to us just because we have accepted Christ into our lives as our personal Savior. Even Christians can respond to Satan’s voice, and as hard as it is for Christians to accept, Satan can gain a foothold in our lives.
The good news is that God gives us the power to turn down the volume. Satan cannot prevail unless we choose to believe him instead of God.
