Who are Your Life Whisperers?

Life Whisperers is one of my favorite chapters in Getting My Ducks in a Row and Other Stories of Faith. (I loved writing this book so much!). Who is speaking into our lives? It’s such a timely question in this season, isn’t it?
I’ve edited that chapter for this week’s note of encouragement. I think you’ll find my words thought-provoking and encouraging. Enjoy!

There are numerous reporters, politicians, and people on the other side of our phone screens, talking to us. Loudly. Intense voices telling us what to believe, who is right and who is wrong, and who is good and who is bad. It all just gets to be too much, doesn’t it?

Steve and I were watching a MASTERPIECE TV show on our local PBS station the other evening. The characters had these delightful British accents, and I found myself wanting to speak “in British” as I watched. Because it seemed so cool. “Hey, hey Steve. Fancy a cuppa tea, would you?”

Several of my friends have fabulous Texas drawls and use phrases that sound as smooth as butter. Every sentence includes a “Y’all” and is filled with charming sweetness. “Aww. Bless your heart.” When I’m alone at home, I’ll sometimes pretend I’m from the South, which gives me permission to speak like them. I feel so . . . sweet and smooth.

And of course. You put me in any conversation with someone from Norway, or someone who speaks Norwegian, and I’m desperate to speak like them. “Du er så snill,” is said with a sing-songy kind of voice. (You are so kind.) Memories take me back years to our hometown cafe. None of the local farmers came from Norway, but when they gathered there for their morning coffee, they all sounded like they just got off the boat.

Who you listen to matters. How they speak to you matters. Because their words and their tone influence your mind and spirit.

Whomever has access to our ears has access to our hearts and our minds, which has a profound impact on how we think. How we think has a profound influence on how we live.

Remember the Bible story in the book of Numbers about the 12 men Moses sent to scope out the land of Caanan? God had promised to give the Israelites this Promised Land. The Israelites had traveled out of Egypt and were ready to settle into their new home. But Moses wanted this team of 12 to check things out in preparation for settling there. What is the soil like? What do the people look like? How big and how fortified are their cities?

The advance team of 12 set out on their 40-day recon mission. But things started to fall apart when the team returned with their report.

All 12 scouts agreed that the land was filled with milk and honey. The produce was impressive. But. Ten of the 12 let fear control them and influence what they reported and how they reported it.
But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.

The other two scouts, Caleb and Joshua, disagreed. We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.

The ten men strengthened their doom and gloom report. The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size . . . We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.

In order to confirm their fears, the ten embellished their report to make the circumstances sound even worse. They focused on the situation in front of them. Joshua and Caleb focused on God’s promise.

The Israelites listened to the ten who had no faith. And then they wanted to overthrow Moses, stone Joshua and Caleb, and actually wished they were back in Egypt.

The Israelites could have enjoyed the land of milk and honey after traveling another month or so. Instead, they spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness. The entire generation of men who left Egypt died in the desert during their wanderings. Only Joshua and Caleb from that generation—two out of two million—were allowed to enter this Promised Land.

The people listened to the wrong voices.

Who are you allowing to speak into your soul and mind?

The great evangelist and teacher, Oswald Chambers, writes this in his May 13 devotional:
“Is my ear so keen to hear the tiniest whisper of the Spirit that I know what I should do? . . . He does not come with a voice like thunder; His voice is so gentle that it is easy to ignore it. The one thing that keeps the conscience sensitive to Him is the continual habit of being open to God on the inside.”

Who are your life whisperers? Who are you listening to? Have you made room for God’s voice?

Let’s listen first and most intently for the voice of The One Who Loves Me Most. Then welcome messages from faith-filled and joy-filled voices, trusted voices who lovingly challenge and encourage us, voices that bring a breath of fresh air and refresh our souls. (And British accents, Southern sweet drawls, and Norwegian lilts will always be music to my ears!)

Speak, Lord. I’m listening.

P.S. I know my books will encourage your heart. Please consider picking up a copy of one, or two, or three of them – for yourself or a friend! You’ll find them on Amazon and on my website. Thank you.

One more P.S. If you haven’t picked up Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest devotional, please check it out. It will have a powerful influence on your walk with Christ. “Shut out every other consideration and keep yourself before God for this one thing only – My Utmost for His Highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and for Him alone.” (Oswald Chambers)