When I was young, I used to play with my invisible friends. Using my imagination, I crafted characters with complex background stories to join me during my playtime. I invited my actual real friends to join me in my imagination games, and we were content as children, personally deciding and controlling what our invisible friends said or did. We spoke the voices for the characters that we created from our imaginations.
While growing up, I
stopped speaking for my invisible friends, and began speaking more for myself.
After a while, I found that not everyone wanted to listen to what I had to say,
and some thought I didn't have anything important to say anyway. When I got
sick at seventeen years old with a rare neurological disease that would stay
with me for the rest of my life, I began to lose my own voice and started to
depend on the voices of others.
There are many voices
in our lives. Some are good, and some are bad. Some voices help us make our own
voice stronger, while other voices stifle us and prevent us from growing and
developing our character.
When I was 17, after
having to life direction and take another look at life because of what my
illness had brought me, I began to listen to the voices that could guide me.
But some voices just
weren't helpful. There were voices of doctors who told me that I shouldn't go
back to school yet because I wasn't as smart as I used to be, and that I would
graduate below the class average. There
were voices who said that I should never leave my hometown because I would not
be able to take care of myself independently with this new illness that I will
have for the rest of my life.
And for a while I
listened to those voices…until the Voice of Truth told me, "No…this is not
what I have planned for you." I knew that God had made me with special
gifts to use for His purposes, and that His plans for me would not be able to
come to pass if all I did was sit at home and wait, listening to voices that
spoke out of fear and doubt.
I refused to believe
that God would give me the talent to excel academically and then take it all
away…and so I went back to school to finish my senior year of high school -
against the advice of most teachers and doctors - and I maintained my health,
and graduated with honours and academic awards. God's Voice was the
"voice" that spoke truth during this time.
I love this song,
"The Voice of Truth" by Casting
Crowns - because it speaks to us about the struggles we have in life,
the discouragement that people sometimes give, and the reminders of our
mistakes in the past.
There will always be
voices beginning with words such as "you can't…" or "you're not
good enough" or "you will never…"
Vincent Van Gogh said,
"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means
paint, and that voice will be silenced." Dare to defy the voices around
you that tell you that you aren't good enough, or that you will never measure
up.
The only Voice we ever
need to listen to is the "Voice of Truth." God said, "But
whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of
evil" (Proverbs 1:33). Why listen to voices who make us afraid or make us
doubt ourselves - when all we need to do is listen to God's voice for safety,
security and courage?
How can we listen for
God's voice? Well for starters, He has given us the lovely gift of the Bible
where we can hear His words anytime we like. The more time we spend in prayer
and listen for God's voice, the more receptive we can be to the messages He has
for us. Prayer should be a two-way conversation…when you pray, don't forget to
listen for the Voice on the other side of the conversation.
God's voice can also
be echoed by others around us who give us verbal affirmation on things that are
true in life and bring glory to God. For example, if you have a special talent
that God would like you to use more often to help others, He may use somebody
to speak with you to encourage you to foster that talent for God.
God's Voice is the one
that decides all things. When a giant is telling you, "you'll never
win" or reminds you of all the times you've tried before and failed -
remember that God's voice gives strength, and just like David - you can knock
down that giant in your life with one single stone.
I've had many giants
in my life. The scariest giant is called "Central Nervous System
Vasculitis" and it tells me that I will always be burdened by this
disease, I will never have a cure, and I won't be able to live the life I
desire because I am constricted by its limitations. It reminds me every day
that it can attack me anytime it wants to or damage my brain permanently.
I could listen to the
voices telling me that this giant is too big for me. They tell me that there
are smaller giants I can defeat, but this giant is too much and I will never
win. The voices tell me I should give up before I lose myself in trying to take
down the giant.
David pulled five
smooth stones out of the water to prepare for his fight with the Philistine
giant. The giant was huge, had more war experiences, and carried weapons far
more advanced than a simple sling shot and a stone.
David said to the
Philistine, “...This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army
to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is
a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or
spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all
of you into our hands" )1 Samuel 17: 46-47).
Despite all the voices
telling him that he couldn't win, David took down the giant - with God's help -
in one single blow, so that everyone can know that God is the One True God.
I will take down my
giant - because I believe in the Voice of Truth. From talking to other people
who also have my illness, I have noticed how blessed I am not to have any
chronic symptoms with my disease. My disease has flared up three times, but it
has never bothered me on a daily basis. My husband told me that when we were at
the hospital for my last flare up, the doctors wanted to retest me because they
thought it was strange that I had not had any symptoms for six years. They
thought I might have been misdiagnosed.
But I wasn't
misdiagnosed. Instead, I believe that God is with me - taking down my giant.
His Voice of Truth comforts me and tells me that I do not need to be a slave to
my disease. 1 John 5:4 says: "For everyone born of God overcomes the
world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith."
And if my giant tries
to take me down again, I will be calling on God to fight along side me, because
"If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).
Out of all the voices
calling out to you today, I invite you to choose to listen to the Voice of
Truth. He can help you take down your giants.
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