Every day, you are faced with decisions that reflect your relationship with God and with others. Sometimes you need to stop and listen to the still small voice before you make some of those choices.

People can be affected by our actions whether they be good or bad. Do you listen to the still small voice, your conscience? Here are some tips on how to be responsive to your conscience.

1. You honor God by listening to that voice of obedience. You can not do what you know in your heart is wrong. Obedience comes from studying God's Word, and putting it into action. God wants your heart focused upon Him, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your entire mind" (Matthew 22:37). So, study God's Word to greatly improve that inner voice that will give you the answers when you need them at the right time. "The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide" (Psalm 37:31).

2. Overlook wrong done by listening to your positive inner voice. Do you dwell on what has been done to you which only produces anger and hostility. Let it go and fill your heart with mercy and kindness. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "We become what we think about all day long." You know if your thoughts are of love toward your enemy or if they are of hate. Which inner voice will you listen to? The inner voice that produces peace that comes from God, or the one that is destructive to you and others? Don't listen to the inner voice that saps your energy and keeps you angry and down. Reflect on the many verses that God has in His Word that encourages you to do good to those who hurt you, to love your enemy, and put that into action. Matthew 5:44 says, "But I tell you; love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Colossians 3:13 states, "Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

3. Do Good. When your inner voice says you should do a kind deed, don't listen to excuses of why you should not do it. Listen to the inner voice that makes you feel good and makes others feel good after you have done the good deed. It could be just a kind word to someone who is down and really needed the encouragement. God inspires us to do good and especially when He knows there is a need.

Have you ever noticed that when you did something encouraging, the person will say, "I really needed that"? God knows the needs of all! It is the interaction with His Spirit and your inner voice that prompts you to do good to help another person who He cares about. 1 John 3:17 says, "But whoever has this world's goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?" When you see your neighbor in need and your inner voice is at work, then do good. Matthew 5:14-16 reads, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

God rewards us for listening and acting on our inner voice to do good. Luke 6:38 says, "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

4. Stop negativity toward yourself! Did you know that you have two inner voices, one is positive and protective of our core values and the other is negative; rooted in fear, insecurity, and/or selfishness? Sometimes you might feel worthless. You may feel you have been slighted or treated as though you were of little value. How do you combat the negative of self loathing?

The truth is that you and only you are responsible for your inner voice, regardless of what it says. People around you might be equally negative, but they do not have the power to control your thoughts. How people treat you does not dictate your worth. They, too, could be listening to their negative inner voice.

You need to counteract the negative inner voice by looking at yourself the way God looks at you. Jeremiah 29:7 states, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord; thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Let God's positive thoughts of you be your guide in how you think toward yourself. Let the Bible be your guide, not yourself or others, in dictating your worth. 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about what happens to you. God places great value on you."

The more aware or in tune you are to your inner voice, "your thoughts," the more inclined you will be to choose the positive thoughts while rejecting the negative. Be committed to silencing your negative inner voice and begin living a positive life. If you see something that you need to change, then do it, but don't beat yourself up. Trust God to do His great work in you!

You are an inner workings of the master potter. Isaiah 64:8 says, "You, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." Isaiah 13:12 says,"I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir." That is what God is doing in our life! Be confident in the work that God is doing in you, and reject the destructive put-down thoughts about yourself.

Before you listen to your inner voice, try to decide which one is talking. When you follow the advice of your inner voice and the outcome equals peace of mind, then that's the positive inner voice talking. However, if your inner voice is negative and rooted in fear or insecurity, hate, anger, selfishness then your decisions made by listening to that negative inner voice will only be destructive to you and to others. It will cut you off from the great God who cares so much for you. Take the time to really listen to your positive inner voice and learn how to control it. It will guide you.

Become all that you can be by being guided by God's spirit, (the positive inner still small voice). Become all that God intended you to become. His still small voice will guide you into a most powerful, confident, positive Christian while helping you to make right decisions.