I’ve always been uncomfortable around clowns. Ok, I’m afraid of clowns! I have no idea why this aversion exists in my life, but it is definitely there and often becomes a metaphor to tell a story. Like this one here today…
It starts with a plaintive and non-violent voice whispering in my ear, “You failed, Mark…again. You are not a real Christian…and you will never be…”
Have you ever heard that kind of lie or experienced something similar in your life? My suspicion is that most of you have because it originates from a pesky foe that we all have in common—Satan, or as I call him, the “Voice Villain,” the creepiest clown around.
The Voice Villain troll wants us to believe that God cannot bless our life, let alone help us in our trials. That our faith is meaningless. That our existence is hopeless and futile. Of course those are all lies and he is dead wrong. Nonetheless, if we allow these powerful assaults to land, they will surely damage our self-worth…disturb the harmony in our relationships…and interrupt our spiritual journey. And that’s the short list! What follows next is the key point I want to make.
The Voice Villain does not stop talking to us just because we have accepted Christ and put our trust in him for everything we do. When we acknowledge that reality, it becomes easier (but not easy) to stay on guard at all times and toss the lies to God the instant they breach our space.
Whether you envision Satan as a clown or a monster or something else does not matter. The only thing that matters is believing with 100% certainty that the Voice Villain cannot prevail unless we choose to believe him and ignore God.
“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
5 STEPS TO DEFEAT THE VOICE VILLAIN
To be “on alert” at all times for a visit from the Voice Villain Clown, I focus on these five things:
SPEED: Watch for how quickly I take the Voice Villain’s treacherous narrative to God after it arrives.
RESOLVE: Strengthen my resolve to bring each and every assault to God’s door the moment it arrives.
STRENGTH: Force myself every day to think of what one thing I can do in Christ that would give me additional strength against future attacks.
DISCERNMENT: Pray for discernment to hear God’s truth over the enemy’s lies.
FAITH: Teach me how to build faith muscles that default to God in the instant I see a clown.
Give it a try.
