You Be You: A 7-Day Reading Plan with Jamie IveySample

Your Place at the Table 

My friend LaTasha Morrison is such a good example of using her voice to speak into what’s right in front of her. You might know her name now, but before Tasha started Be the Bridge, or stood on massive stages, or got invited to do things with Facebook, she was saying the same things to a group of women in Austin that no one knew about.

Tasha once invited a group of us to meet at the African-American Cultural and Heritage facility to talk about race and unity. I honestly had no idea what I was walking into that day. I did know these conversations were important to me because three of my children look different than me. I also knew these conversations should matter to all of us as Christians. But I was not prepared for what meeting with these ladies would do for my soul and my heart over the next few years.

Tasha led us so well. She guided our conversations about race, unity, privilege, and so much more. The group was diverse, and God used the voices that were represented in that room to shape me and continue bringing value into my life today. Tasha wasn’t writing books then; she wasn’t on a large stage. She was ministering to the children in her church as the kids’ director and using the voice God had given her from the day she was born, using it to move the hearts of those around her. She was using her voice to teach, lift up, and encourage the ones that God had put in front of her at that specific moment.

This was the beginning of Tasha’s now “big” voice she uses through her organization. But it sounded just as big to me those years ago when her stage was a lot smaller. She didn’t wait for the platform to get bigger before she cranked up the volume on what God had given her to say.

Don’t wait to be invited to a larger table before you sit down and share what’s inside you. You and your voice are already invited to the table. And there, you get to use your voice to bring change to the world. You get to use your voice to spread the gospel. You get to use your voice to make Him known and bring Him glory. You get to use your voice not because you’ve earned it or deserve it or because you’re the best person for the job, but simply because God has invited you into this work with Him. He places value on you and adores you as His daughter. No further invitation is needed. Your invite is the love of God in you, using you to speak to the people right in front of you.

Your words matter. Your ideas have value. Now go use them. Steward those words, ideas, and thoughts well. Look around you, see who’s in front of you, and speak to them. Speak with boldness, confidence, love, and grace that comes from the Father, and tell them the good news.

PRAY 

Heavenly Father, I often feel inadequate to speak, yet I know you are calling me to share the gospel with those you’ve placed in my life. Please give me the boldness, confidence, love, and grace that I need to share you with others. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.