How to Find Your DestinySýnishorn

The Voice of the Enemy

In your quest to find your God-authored destiny, no doubt you will come up against opposition. We've been examining the story of Ruth this week and the voices she had to defy to follow God's call in her life. You'll recall from our first day together that to find your destiny, you must be able to discern the voice of God, and to discern the voice of God, you must first want to know the voice of God.

There is one more voice that will compete for your attention, and it would be amiss of us not to be aware of it and the narrative that comes along with it. This voice also knows the Word of God, cunningly twisting it to sow seeds of doubt in our minds and condemnation in our hearts. This voice even tries to use the Word of God to make us question God's good plans for our lives.

This voice belongs to Satan, and he will use emotion, reason, or other people's voices to convince you that you can't or shouldn't follow God's plan for your life.

Ruth is one woman who chose God's voice over the enemy's ploys, but she is not the only woman Satan has attempted to distract from God's plan.

Remember Eve in the Garden of Eden, that place of complete perfection? The voice of the enemy came in the form of a serpent and said to Eve, "Did God really say…?" That one seed of doubt planted by Satan's voice convinced Eve that she would not surely die as God said she would, but that, instead, she would become more like God, knowing good and evil.

Eve caved at the enemy's subtleties and disobeyed God's instructions. As a result, sin entered the world.

But there is One who would not fall prey to the voice of the enemy.

Matthew 4:1-11 tells us the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the enemy. After 40 days of fasting, when Jesus was hungry, the Bible says the tempter came. Talk about timing! I don't know about you, but hunger can make me emotional, irrational, and extremely vulnerable.

The enemy knew Jesus was hungry and tried to use it to his advantage to cause Jesus to fall, but with every attempt of the enemy to twist the Word of God, Jesus rebuked him with the truth of the Word of God. So much so, that verse 11 tells us that the devil left Jesus.

Jesus set the example for us. When we can rebuff the voice of the enemy with the truth of God's Word, the enemy has got to flee. That is why, my friend, much like Ruth, we must want to know the voice of God.

Prayer:

Father God, help me to be alert and of sober mind, for Your Word says that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. I don't want to be that someone, Lord. Help me stand firm on Your Word when the enemy's voice tries to derail me from Your good plans for my life. In Jesus' name, I pray, with thanksgiving, Amen.