“Who told you …?”
Would it surprise you that this is a question that God asked Adam. Well to be more correct, it is part of a question that God asked Adam. The full question was “Who told you that you were naked?” Genesis 3:11. The context was that Adam and Eve had done what God had commanded them not to do. As a result Adam and Eve were hiding. In the course of the discussion, Adam said he was ashamed because he was naked. This is when God asked the question. This is a question that I used to just brush right by. But as I have grown, it is a question I hear God ask me so often … Who told you … you were not enough? Who told you … you couldn’t do this? Who told you … this is just how it is? You get the idea.
So who should we, as Christians, be listening to? I know it can be easy to answer this with “God” or “Jesus”, and yes that is true. But really what does this look like. How do we walk this out? How important is it anyway?
Today I read a familiar passage …
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:1-3
This verse begins with this very topic – do you see it? “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked …” This is basically saying that it matters whose voice we give weight to!
For me, lately a way that I am working to practice this scripture is to not allow fault finders, complainers, unkind people etc to be the ones that I cower to or strive to impress. Think about it, how many times do you hear something good or neutral and just minimize it and move on, but when you hear something negative it hits like an arrow stabbing you in the heart. I want to caution you and me to be careful whose counsel we are sitting under in these situation.
I read a meme the other day that sums it up this way…
“Don’t take criticism from someone you would not go to for advice.”
I am not saying to only surround yourself with “yes men” / people who tell you what you want to hear. But I am telling you that sometimes asking ourselves “Who told you …?” is a good and healthy thing.
So what should we spend our time thinking about/listening to?
The verse addresses this as well … “And in His laws (God’s Word) he meditates day and night.” For me in practice this has meant that I have recently made it a daily (actually multiple times per day) practice that I stop (pause) and just be still and know that He is God. In those moments sometimes I just meditate (repeat over and over internally) on what God says over me. I’ll say (internally) things like God, You say that I am Your masterpiece; God, You say I can do all things. God, You say that You have chosen me.
So I want to encourage you to ask yourself “Who told me …” when you are struggling and if God did not say it, replace it with what He did say.