The title of this might be a bit misleading so let me dispel any misunderstandings right away. This is not a post about the reality television show. It’s not about music or vocalists trying to make it big by impressing some panel of judges. Nothing wrong with the show necessarily just not the point of this post. So if it’s not about the show then what, you may be asking. It’s about the voice that speaks the loudest to you. Do you know what voice you listen to the most?

In life there are many voices that vie for our attention. There are voices of politics and money, power and position. Each of these voices can grow deafeningly loud if left unattended. We all hear them. All of us even listen to them at some point in our lives. And in all honesty there’s nothing wrong with any of these voices. The problem comes in when these voices become the loudest voice in our lives.

Take money for instance. There’s not a thing wrong with working hard to accumulate wealth. There’s nothing wrong with achieving success in your job and storing up a healthy nest-egg for retirement. There’s nothing wrong with buying a new car or getting that new camper you’ve always wanted. The problem comes into play when that’s the end game. Money shouldn’t be the point. It may be nice to have and it admittedly is a necessary part of our lives to be certain. But when the voice of the dollar becomes too loud it becomes a vice that holds us captive. This is not the voice that needs your attention.

But it’s not just money that can become a strong and powerful voice in our lives. Our self-image can often run us into a tailspin. The way others see us and the compliments we do, or don’t for that matter, receive can become the driving voice in our lives.

It seems like everything and everyone today is screaming louder and louder to have their say in what’s important. The last few posts have been about quiet voices, like a whisper. There’s something powerful about a whisper. If you’re a parent, try this.

Next time your child is disagreeing with you and every ounce of your being is ready to yell, hit the pause button for a second and just whisper. Whispering in the midst of a tense moment can do two really important things. First it relaxes you a bit. Second it draws the listener closer.

The bible talks about listening. Last week in the post title Whisper, we looked at an event when God whispered to Elijah. But why would he do that? Why would God want to whisper? He’s always pictured at the one with the loud and booming voice. Why the whisper?

The goal of the whisper isn’t the words spoken but the intimacy of the relationship.

When we whisper, we’re talking through our breath not our vocal cords. That may not seem all that important until you realize the power of breath. We can’t live without breathing. We can’t live if we don’t have breath. As a matter of fact, the way God brought Adam to life was to breathe into him. After Jesus rose and appeared to his disciples he breathed on them. It’s like woven into the fabric of our very being is a gentle whisper.

In a world filled with voices it’s hard to find the whisper. Our challenge as followers of Christ is to weed through the voices so that we can find the whisper. We need to silence the deafening sound of the inaudible voices screaming in our ears so that we might be able to hear the gentle breeze of the breath of God whispering life into us.

Remember you can only speak what you hear. Listen closely and you’ll hear him calling to you and to me in a gentle and quiet whisper.