God Chose You, Sanovia. Use Your VOICE.
Phew!
About three weeks ago, I received an invitation for a private audition on The Voice.
THE VOICE.
Initially, skepticism flooded my mind – social media is rife with scams, after all. Yet, I allowed the possibility that a casting director saw my work and believed I'd be a great fit.
Confirming it was a genuine opportunity, excitement bubbled within, though I kept it close, celebrating privately on IG live and sharing the news discreetly with my 'close friends.'
A few years ago, I would have broadcasted this news from the rooftops, shouting to the world that I, yes, I, was chosen to audition for The Voice.
But here I am, on the verge of recording the auditions, and I've hardly shared this exciting news with my grandmother, parents, or even my closest friends.
Reflecting on this at Rec Philly today, I realized I'd rather wait until it feels 'real' to celebrate. Funny, right?
I'm hesitant to embrace excitement to shield myself from potential disappointment. Who is this person? What happened to the girl who once screamed with joy as her childhood dreams unfolded? Where is the second-grade girl proud to be recognized as one of the best singers, the one with confidence, the one who reveled in her greatness?
She grew up. In the process, she forgot herself, lost her wonder, and abandoned faith. She began defending her gifts, forgetting that God doesn't need her defense – He needs her belief, practice, and prayers.
God chose me.
The journey to my destiny is paved by my current declarations. (listening to Transformation Church’s Charles Metcalfe).
It's time to let my words change my life, aligning them with God's truth.
Romans 10:9-11 states:
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”
Proverbs 18 reinforces the power of the tongue:
20 From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled; with the harvest of their lips, they are satisfied. 21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
The truth is, I am more prepared for this moment than I've allowed myself to believe. To those I haven't shared this news with, my apologies – I'm only human.
Guess what, y'all! I'm auditioning for The Voice, and I'm choosing to celebrate boldly because God chose me. That's it.
THE PRAYER
God, my prayer is that my confessions be unreasonable, miraculous, and given to you. I pray there are things that ONLY you can do so that when I tell the story, I will be telling the story of what it’s like to believe in you. I pray for visions, signs, and wonders in the way I speak, think, and imagine. God, I repent for my unbelief. I repent for the times that I forgot that I had been called by you far before I was formed in my mother’s womb. God keep me ready, ridiculous, and reverent.
1 Timothy 6:12-16
12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.