Who Do You Believe About You?

As I watched The Voice this weekend, I commented on how some contestants have grown and changed, while others seem to still struggle with pride, insecurity, etc.  One such contestant is a young guy named Moses.  As a rapper first and singer second, Moses was very unsure when paired to sing against a duo who have agreeably better voices.   As is the design of the show, he’s given a celebrity mentor to provide additional help.  Prompted to sing a few lines mirroring Christina Aguilera, Moses nervously sang, and then looked up nervously.  Lionel Richie smiled at Moses and said, “You have the voice.”  From that moment on, Moses was a different person.  In subsequent interviews, he even admitted, “If Lionel Richie tells you you have the voice, you have it.”  That reassurance gave him the confidence to perform so well, he won the next round against those better voices.

It made me think: Moses was changed dramatically once he let the approval of an expert sink in.  Who he is didn’t change, but ne longer worried about what he felt or even about his ability.  He walked with a new confidence because no matter what happened in that battle round, Lionel Richie believed in him.  I thought of all those people we watched this weekend – at the memorials, the mall, passing on the street.  I wonder how many of them would walk with a new confidence if they truly believed what an expert said about them.  No offense to Lionel Richie, but he’s got nothing on the God of the Universe.  And God loves you so much; He cares so much about what happens to you that He let His Son die so you don’t have to.  He’s assuring you, “You have the voice.  You have the strength.  You are capable of so much.” 

Once he let the truth sink in, Moses wasn’t the same.  He listened to the expert over the judges, his thoughts, doubts, fears, and it changed him.  Who do you believe about you?