“Many believed in Jesus because of (her) testimony.” John 4:39 NIV
“One voice can make a difference, if it has the power of personal conviction.”
My thoughts today are about “the power of one voice.”
It is easy to question if one voice can make any difference, but history has literally been changed again and again by instances when one voice refuses to be silenced because of their conviction of truth. Does William Wilberforce, England’s Prime Minister in the 1700’s who eventually abolished the slave trade, or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement of the 1960’s, or Dr. Billy Graham’s trusted voice to the common man and counsel to presidents come to mind? What if they had not let their voice be heard? How different your world, and many people’s lives, would be today if they had not been willing to speak up.
Yet you will hear so much palaver that just doesn’t ring true. It may sound good at first, but has the hollow sound of one man’s opinion, rather than truth. There is so much of that in our high volume, media-heavy world that you rarely know who or what to believe – and may finally doubt everyone and everything, until you hear what rings indelibly true in your heart and soul.
It is not the loudest voice, nor just the most pleasing voice, nor always the most popular voice that will most be heard and believed. Ultimately, it is the voice – even the power of one voice – that rings with authority and clarity born of heart-felt sincerity and firmly persuaded conviction. You could be that much needed voice to a friend who needs to hear God’s truth, or a circle of influence needing Godly direction, or a life that feels lost and needs a Savior.
There is nothing your world needs more than to hear truth, truth that is eternal and enduring, not just the strongly held opinions or current facts of the moment. One voice can make a difference, if it has the power of personal conviction. Until gradually, a chorus of others joins their voice. Let me ask you a question, who have you trusted to be that kind of voice in your life? Who do you listen to when they speak? Before you can be one, you need to have someone.
Today’s verse is about a woman who came to a well in the heat of the day, and there she met Jesus. She came to draw water, and instead she was invited by the Savior to drink freely of Living Water. Read John 4:1-26NIV. The power of that one voice freed her from the shame and guilt of her questionable history, changing her life forever.
But the story does not end there, nor should yours. She left her water jar and went back to town, the same town where every one knew her, or maybe knew of her would describe the situation better. “Come see a man . . (who knew all about me) . . could this be the Christ?” Read John 4:28-30. Because of her voice, they came. They heard her testimony; now listen to theirs, “They said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves and we know this man is really the Savior of the world.'” John 4:39-42 NIV. It’s not about you; it’s always about Him.
If you will be that one voice that speaks truth from your personal knowledge and experience, and with firm conviction, while they hear your voice, they just might listen to His! You are the laborer the Lord of the Harvest is calling to those waiting to hear. See John 4:35-38/Matthew 9:37-38. Your testimony is uniquely yours; know well its power, and share it freely. That’s the power of one voice to reach and touch the eternal – when that voice tells another thirsty soul about Jesus. See Acts 4:10-14.
My prayer for you is: be willing to be at least one voice, and let your words be His.