To The Woman Who Has Lost Her Voice:
Today I was going to record a podcast. It’s been in my heart and on my calendar for some time now, but today I’ve physically lost my voice. I lost my voice in the middle of a retreat that I was speaking at - go figure. My voice was fine and then it was strained, and then it was hardly recognizable and then it was gone completely. Today I’m in recovery, but I’ve still got something to say.
I’m a BIG believer that God uses ordinary circumstances to show us extraordinary truths. So, as I sit here quietly, unable to be vocal about the things in my heart, it reminds me of something:
There are many women who have lost their voices - figuratively- over the course of life and sit in a sense of silence, not just one day but most days . They were born with God-planted things to say and people to impact through their words of life, love and their exuberant sounds of laughter, but somewhere along the way, they found themselves silenced.
Abandonment, grief, loss, perceived failure, abuse, anxiety and disappointment have a way of taking the breath and words right of us at times. And nothing debilitates a voice quite like the belief that no one wants to listen to what you have to say. Overcoming these silencers would take a lifetime, if there was no hope anchored in a Redeemer or Restorer.
“ God uses ordinary circumstances to show us extraordinary truths”
What is also true, is that while some women may have no hope at all, there are also women in church pews who have forgotten the God of the universe has asked them(us) to, “pour out your heart to ME, anytime and all the time, because I’m trustworthy and I want to be your refuge.” (Ps 62:8)
There’s something about knowing in your heart that there’s a God who wants to hear from you that gives you a renewed boldness to speak again- to give expression to the person God created you to be, in and through Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
I’m reminded of a woman in scripture (see 1 Samuel) named Hannah who was so distressed and in such anguish, at having no children. As she tried to pray aloud it says that she was “speaking in her heart with only her lips moving but her voice was not heard.”
The onlooking priest thought she was a drunk, but she said to him, “I’m not drunk, I’ve been pouring out my heart and soul to the Lord.”
The story unfolds and we know that God DID hear her as she poured out her heart in a way that her voice couldn’t yet give expression to. The irony is that this voiceless woman gives birth to a very significant prophet named Samuel, who serves the Nation of Israel as a VOICE of the Lord (Acts 3:24).
When women pour their hearts out to God, HE can use that substance to change lives, nations and the perspective of the onlookers and even naysayers.
Communing with God changes the plot from seeing a lady as a barren and voiceless drunk, to a woman of faith, heard by God and the mother of a legend.
A woman with no voice herself, births life to someone who serves as a voice of the Lord to thousands upon thousands— probably millions.
The beautiful truth is that when we begin to pour out our heart, He begins to pour into it, and in His pouring creates an overflow that is the voice that was otherwise absent. From the overflow of the heart, we begin to speak. (Matthew 12:34)
Hannah proclaimed this truth:
““My heart rejoices and triumphs in the Lord; my horn (strength) is lifted up in the Lord, my mouth is opened wide (to speak boldly)....Because I rejoice in your salvation.” ”
Where our weakness abounds, God’s grace abounds all the more.
(Paul, the Apostle)
So, let me introduce you to Entourage Ministries(EM), that I’m honored to be part of...we are a women’s ministry named after Ps 68:11 which says,
“The Lord gives the command to enter Canaan; and the woman are a great army who proclaim the good news.””
“EM” [Entourage Ministries], is a multi-generational and multi-denominational ministry that we will talk about it in the coming blogs and podcasts.
For today, I just want to encourage the woman with no voice left that YOU are entitled, through Jesus, to the promise, rest, inheritance and victory, that’s part of the good news. YOU have a voice that is meant to be heard and part of the proclamation. We can’t proclaim good news and live in silence at the same time. We can’t be an army of many and be so few. There’s an invitation for YOU here.
The best way to get you voice back is by pouring your heart out to the Lord; all its fragments, failed dreams and broken promises from those who didn’t handle it carefully( Ps 62:8). Begin believing that He cares to hear from you (1 Peter 5) and not only to hear you but to confirm, strengthen, restore and establish you.... voice and all.
I have no voice today, but I’ve still got something today. You too, sister. You too.
And I believe that like Hannah, as you pour out your heart to God, not only do you gain your own voice, but pathways are created for others to hear the voice of the Lord in new ways.
Praise God for that.