I was walking through the kitchen one day, and a loud voice inside said, “You should grab some snack food since you’re passing through.”  Often, I might listen to that voice, grab some peanuts or crackers, and continue my way.  But this time, I stopped and questioned the voice.  

I thought, “I don’t need any snack food.  I’m perfectly content with the last meal I ate, and anything I eat now would be pure self-indulgence, extra food that I don’t need.”  I kept walking, and happily so, without snack food in hand.

Afterward, I thought about what happened, how voices come into our thinking telling us what to do.  And how important it is to question those voices and not let them lead us to do things that are not in our best interest to do.  We need to be discerning.  

We need to ask, “Is this the voice of God speaking to me?  Or am I being gullible, listening to ignorant selfish mortal mind?”

The impulses come in many forms.  It could be a temptation to criticize a family member or neighbor, when we should be quiet and trust their care to God’s wise direction.  It could be deciding to laze around, being unproductive when there are important projects one should be doing.  It could be suggestions of sickness rolling in that need to be vehemently denied and shut out.

The point being, be discerning!  Just because a thought rolls across our mind, doesn’t mean we should act on it.  We have God-given dominion to act on right thoughts and reject harmful ones.

If it’s not coming from God, resist it.  If it’s coming from God, run with it.  Be discerning.