I recently watched “The King’s Speech” and something in me resonated with the fear, self-doubt and insecurity of George, the apprehensive Duke-turned-King. He did his best to avoid any position of greatness to avoid its standards. As he saw himself, he could never be The Guy for any position, much less King of England (and much more of the world at that time). Because of his speech impediment, he had convinced himself he had no voice – even up to the moment he was appointed to the spotlight he most dreaded.
To accept his responsibility demanded him to finally admit, accept and ultimately believe he had something to say: that he had a voice.
Have you ever had that sense of burning, that boiling well of a million words that can’t seem to find their way out? Somewhere deep within us, we all hold a story that must be told. Otherwise it eats away at us until hope becomes despair. The story’s excitement becomes weariness; the anticipation becomes burden; we lose the words that were once so clear, and we forget the story we knew so well. First sign of rejection or failure? No one cares? That No one listening? We remain silent.
Silence isn’t absence: You have a voice. You have something to say that no one else can say. You have something to give that no one else can give. Your voice is directly connected to what is in your heart: what you love, what you’re passionate about, whatever it is that makes you come alive. Whether it’s to one person or the masses, we are called to use that voice for the glory of the Lord, and find ways to be a voice in the lives of others. Many of us may never stand at a pulpit or on a stage; many of us may never write a best seller or will be read by thousands. But, whether we like it or not, we should focus on our lives as the pulpit and the stage.
It’s ironic that as I write this I also have to fight the very voice trying to silence me – and so it is with many of us. As we begin to speak out, we must battle that voice, those thought, that belief: “You have nothing to say. You will never be heard.” You have a voice, and someone needs to hear it.
I’ve struggled for years to believe that I have something worth saying, whether it is to those I know well or to those who are reading this now. Even now, I still must fight to believe I have something worth saying, something that maybe someone, maybe somewhere, needs to hear. I’ve long had the desire to write, sing and be heard, but have been silenced by the inaccurate belief I have nothing to say, sing or give. Ever so slowly, these fears begin to lose their voice as I find mine.
Many succumb to the lie that says: “If you can’t say or do something well, then don’t even try.” Like King George, there is often something inside trying to silence us. Fear? Insecurity, doubt, the belief that our words and actions have no value? We will have no voice if we listen to the voice that seeks to silence us. Don’t give up on your voice, no matter how timid it may seem. Someone needs to hear your story.
The Father is asking, “Do you trust me with your story? Do you believe me when I say it needs to be told? Do you trust me to tell it well? Stop trying to write your own. Just tell the one you’ve been given, the one I’ll never stop writing.”
We are surrounded by opportunities to use our voice daily, to be a voice of truth, love and encouragement in the lives of others. The Bible is clear the tongue has the power to create and destroy. For it was with His voice God brought creation into existence, breathing his spirit into the dirt that became our bodies.
You hold the power to create life or bring destruction through the voice you’ve been given. Raise it to whatever audience you find yourself surrounded by, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, have it guided by truth. Now let your life be a story well told. Seek to find your own message, burning in your heart; the message that you – and only you – can speak.
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