Casandra Martin

It happened more than twenty-five years ago. Someone showered criticism and flung shame at my heart. It stuck. Even now, I can still remember how the encounter made me feel about two inches tall. The echoes of that day still resonate within me.

We all have a voice in our heads. Someone who threw guilt, inadequacy, or less-than-good-enough in our direction. That voice has tremendous power to shape our steps, impact how we see ourselves in the mirror, and measure our self-worth. We enter a new day and the residue of those negative voices guide how we move, often times without us even realizing it.

It is then, perhaps, no accident that one of God’s most repeated commands is “Hear.” Throughout His Word, God repeatedly calls to the hearts of His people to listen. One of the primary commands contained in the Shema, the foundational truth of the Old Testament and the greatest command of the New Testament, begins, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) God knows that the voices of the world are going to invade our heads. They will set up road blocks, make us feel unworthy, and prevent us from moving forward. The only way to defeat these voices to listen to His voice. To hear truth instead of lies. To listen to love rather than shame.

My Jesus Resolution today is to listen to God’s voice. I am always surprised by the pull the world’s words have on my heart. Too many times I let my need for approval, my desire to fit in, or my tendency to measure my value by what I see in others to play loud in my head. Letting God’s words fill me, allowing His voice to set the rhythm for my soul, is the only antidote to the poison of those painful words. Jesus will always speak the truth into my life, and that truth will transform me into a person fit for His glory.