What Are Those Inner Voices We Hear?

Voices In My Head, Part 2

We all hear voices in our head. These thoughts influence how we interpret the world around us and tell us what to do and think. Why do we hear voices? Where are they coming from? Which ones should we listen to, and which ones should we ignore? In my experience, some of those inner thoughts come from God, some from Satan, and some come from our past.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

God’s voice

God loves us. He really does. He always desires the very best for us. He proved that by paying the ultimate sacrifice so that we would be able to live forever with Him. but he yearns for much more for us. Not just to live, but to experience abundant life. His words are positive, encouraging, uncondemning, wise. They give life, hope, freedom, joy, discernment. So His voice is going to reflect how He sees us, and what He wants for us.

For years I listened to the voice telling me that God was a taskmaster, someone that expected me to be perfect, constantly pointing out my faults to me. It has been life-changing to discover that it wasn’t God accusing and condemning me all those years. It was Satan. God’s true character is pure unadulterated love. The more I understand this, the more I see how much Satan had been messing with my mind.

Satan’s voice

On the other hand, Satan hates us and wants to destroy our lives. His main tactic is deception. He is trying every way he can to keep you from knowing and experiencing the truth of God’s love and grace. Satan is pretty wily, too, and He’s had lots of practice at lying. Those negative thoughts He whispers in our ear seem to make a lot sense sometimes.

For example, I applied for a job recently, and didn’t get it. Immediately I started hearing a voice saying you aren’t good enough, you don’t belong here, you messed up. Once I realized where those words were coming from—straight from the pit of hell– I could counter them with truth. I am God’s precious child. He loves me and will accomplish what concerns me. He is working all things to good. He’s got my back.

Voices from our past

In our lives we all have things that were drilled into us from an early age, to help us to survive. (Don’t touch a hot stove. Look both ways before you cross the street. Brush your teeth.) But when we are traumatized, especially at an early age, we can adopt coping mechanisms. We use these reactions, based on false ways of interpreting our world, to stay safe. We can also develop false perceptions about ourselves and our world. These habits and beliefs can follow us into adulthood and skew our thinking and responses.

For example, our family moved around a good bit while I was growing up. So I was “the new kid” at school–a lot. I attended 7 different schools before I graduated high school. I often felt like I was on the outside, like I didn’t quite belong. I developed some positive habits to deal with that—be friendly and positive, stay in touch with as many friends as possible. But it also scarred me. “I don’t belong” is one of the lies that goes deep with me and has taken a lot of effort to uncover and counter.

What are those inner voices you hear?

What are those inner voices you hear? And where are they coming from? Which ones are from Satan, which from God, and which from the skewed thinking we adopted in childhood? Identifying the voices helps us to know what do to about them.

What conversations are running in the background of your mind? How do you identify where those inner voices coming from? Please share. We’d love to hear from you!

Part 1: Do You Hear Voices In Your Head?

Part 3: How Satan Works

Part 4: Weeding Out the Lies and Responding With Truth

Part 5: What You Feed Is What Will Grow