Six years ago and with a great lack of confidence, I hesitantly began using my voice on this blog. Though I had a deep innate desire for a space to write and share, it was completely out of my comfort zone to actually create that space and publish content.

Though my confidence has increased a little bit over the last few blogging years, self-doubt continues to plague me. An offhand comment made in my early blogging days keeps whispering in my head that my voice is not important. What I have to say doesn’t matter. I could write or not write and it would make no difference.

What about you? Perhaps you do not have a blog but another platform of some sort. We all have a sphere of influence. How important do you think your voice is? Your perspective? Your viewpoint? Your personal story? Do you hesitate to use your voice? Why?

As I stop now and really reflect on that brief conversation years ago with that church leader, which has created so much self-doubt for me, I think I may have been misinterpreting his comment. My blog had come up in casual conversation, and this man, who was not close to me and did not know me all that well, had said something equivalent to admitting he felt he had nothing important enough to say that he would ever start a blog. I heard, “You have nothing important to say. You should not start a blog.” However, that is not at all what he said. Apparently, I have been listening to a self-inflicted judgment.

*HEADS UP* Self-doubt easily hears things wrong. Listen carefully.

As I currently ponder my blogging journey and self-doubt, I am amazed that I have spent so much time focusing on that “opinion” while thoroughly forgetting what another church leader said. Before I ever started the blog and was seeking wisdom if I should even attempt it, I sought advice from a church leader who was a close friend and knew my heart well. He had immediately and enthusiastically responded, “Go for it!” He did warn me to keep it in balance with my other roles and responsibilities, but he had been so supportive. That comment is never on my radar. I am always consumed with what the other guy said. Words triggering self-doubt have played on repeat all these years while I have totally ignored strengthening words. Thankfully, I am writing this blog post and finally catching my error!

*HEADS UP* Self-doubt loves to replay the worst. Ruminate selectively.

But now another problem rears its head. Perhaps we dare to believe we have something valuable to say to the world but then only a handful listen to us. Perhaps we write a blog post and dare to be vulnerable and publish it, only to have one person like it. Surely if no one is responding and liking our content that must be an obvious sign that our voice is indeed unimportant, right? If it was important, wouldn’t everyone recognize that reality and confirm it every single time we made an impact on them? Let me stop and ask you something. How often have you been encouraged by an article, a video, a sermon, a book, a movie, a comedian and never ever let that courageous person who dared use his voice know? All. The. Time. When we bravely use our voice, there is no way to calculate how many we are reaching.

However, what if we are literally only reaching one person? Is our voice important then?

If we have been that one person on the receiving end, we intuitively know that voice is invaluable. If we are the recipient of words we needed in a specific moment, we know without a doubt that voice was very important. Perhaps even priceless. We know our lives would not be the same if they had stayed silent. We know this. But do we comprehend God can likewise use our voice in someone else’s life?

But suppose not even one person is hearing our voice.

Then I would direct our attention to one of my favorite books growing up, The Diary of Anne Frank. The world reads her words, which were all published after her untimely death. She did not write for us and yet she did. Our responsibility is to use our voice as we are led to do and leave the rest in God’s hands.

*HEADS UP* Self-doubt focuses on the “likes.” Engage humbly.

Lastly, staying quiet, blending in, and not creating any ripples is the natural bent for many of us. We naturally want to be an Aaron Burr, not letting people know what we are for and what we are against, instead of an Alexander Hamilton, who is willing to take the shot for his opinions. Speaking up in any way, whether in a private one-on-one conversation or on a large stage, inherently does involve risk. And many of us are pretty risk adverse. We have no desire to do anything that might create conflict, misunderstandings, or hurt feelings. Best to stay silent, right? There is truth that the way we use our voice (tone, word choice, etc.) definitely matters, but that is not the focus here. For now, I want us to consider how many of us convince ourselves that our voice is not important because we are scared of actually speaking up. Better to believe we are unimportant than to admit we are a coward. That sentence convicts me big time, so please do not take it as judgmental. When I finally found the courage to start this blog, I did not have the courage to attach my name to it for several months. Anonymity was more comfortable. Risk does come with the territory of using our voice. Not everyone will agree with you, understand you, praise you, and like you.

HEADS UP: Self-doubt focuses on the risk. Speak courageously.

To recap:

• Self-doubt easily hears things wrong. Listen carefully.
• Self-doubt loves to replay the worst. Ruminate selectively.
• Self-doubt focuses on the “likes.” Engage humbly.
• Self-doubt focuses on the risk. Speak courageously.

In conclusion, an encouraging, guiding, strengthening verse on the topic is Proverbs 25:11: “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.”