Your voice matters. You hold and have experienced a unique and one-of-a-kind story that belongs to you and you alone, and it matters to the world to hear your voice. It can be complicated even to begin finding our voice for many of us, but once we do and we step into fully embracing who we are and who we were made to be, sharing your voice will follow. Here are some ways to find and embrace your voice.
Recognize your passions.
There are passions within each of our hearts that illuminate our lives and spark excitement. Part of finding your voice is investing in your desires because they help to fuel what you have to share. Nurturing the things that brighten your life can help you towards your voice. Consider what makes you feel alive, what makes you want to get up in the morning, or something that you would never cancel plans for. Choose not to let these remain hobbies but to embrace them more richly. Dare to take the rabbit hole down of possibilities. You never know what a hobby could evolve into.
Recognize your strengths.
What are some of your strengths? Are there places that you naturally excel in, and practicing towards those strengths only adds to the level of skill you have? These strengths can be a conduit towards finding your inner voice. For many, there is the need to acknowledge strengths because once you do, you can overcome the fear, timidity, or insecurity of stepping out into your strengths. If you were given talent, it is a gift and something you should not waste. Consider the Parable of the Minas given to the workers in Matthew 25. All were provided a certain number of minas, also called talents, but only two chose to invest the talents for returns. The other hid his talent away beneath the surface. Don't waste the talent God has given to you; support it, grow it, and nurture it. You never know how God might use that talent He gave with your name on it.
Pray for clarity and discernment.
The most vital step in discovering and embracing your voice is partnering with the Lord. Ultimately, using your voice should glorify Him who graciously gave you that voice, but there must be a connection to understand how, when, and what context to use. Come before the Lord in prayer to ask for clarity and discernment of what it looks like to become the person God made you to be. Remember that it is not overnight either. Growth takes time.
Consider the story of Esther. She would one day have one of the greatest voices in all the world to advocate on behalf of the Jewish people to King Xerxes, but it took time to prepare her for that day when she would use her voice for her people on behalf of God. The book of Esther tells us that it took an entire year for her to be prepared even to be presented to the King as a potential bride. Then, there came the time when she stood in her title and role as Queen. When the time was right, she was given the task of speaking to the King on behalf of her people. However, that was years in the making. Perhaps God is taking time to prepare you in your voice for something big just as He did Esther. Don't discount your season and position now because every moment in preparation matters to the big picture.
Boldly step up into your voice.
In accepting your voice, your true self, and who you were made to be, there will be a call towards becoming bold. This may look like sharing in front of great crowds, or this could look like taking a courageous leap from something you never thought you'd have the bravery to do. Yet, boldness becomes the next step into standing firm and standing tall in using your voice in any situation. Remember that even in the fear that can overwhelm you or the passing thoughts that come to discourage you from the Enemy, God has called you forward into this daring place for a reason. Esther 4:14 shares, "perhaps you were called forward for such a time as this." Perhaps the opportunity that unfolds before you is meant specifically for you to take all you have learned and grown to live out in confident action. Partner with God, confirm with Him that this is the call on your life, and then boldly step into all that the Lord has for you. You never know how it could impact lives to come.
Challenge yourself.
Life is full of challenges, whether they come from inevitable outside places or from an inner call within to give yourself a challenge or goal. At times, an internal motivation to rise is needed to get you to your next level. Without a doubt, it will feel uncomfortable at first, but think about how that very moment could be the one that years from now you mark as the moment everything changed. The minute in time that you chose to embark on something more significant than what you had known or seen before, and the time in which you truly embraced and carried out the voice and called on your life. You will never know unless you leap trying. Align yourself with God and see where He might lead you to challenge yourself to that new season in your life.
CS Lewis once wisely stated, "The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become - because He made us. He invented us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be. . .It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own." What this means is the more we allow and invite God to indwell within us and reveal to us Who He is, the more in time and turn we will find that inner and distinct voice He has made for us. Trust Him in this process and seek to embrace all the good He has for you.
