Finding Your Voice - Encouragement for Today - September 15, 2025

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September 15, 2025

Finding Your Voice
KENDRA DAHL

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“Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand …” Proverbs 8:1-2 (ESV)

My grandparents’ farm is one of my favorite places on earth. As a kid, I would spend long days with my siblings and cousins roaming its far corners, climbing hay bales or riding snowmobiles, building forts or searching for kittens.

A large, cast-iron bell sat just outside the back door, and when we heard that bell ring, we knew it was time to come in. Probably hot food was waiting, and in the winters, there were mugs of cocoa or Russian tea. No matter the season, the bell signaled that my mom, grandma, and aunts were beckoning us home.

I think about that bell sometimes, especially when I hear the call to find my voice. The world tells us to be loud, to persist, to demand to be heard. And I understand the invitation. I spent a lot of years hesitating to raise my voice at all. I feared being too much. I worried about being misunderstood or stepping outside my lane. Something is appealing about feeling empowered to speak in these spaces where I once felt silenced.

But what if finding my voice isn’t about dominance or volume? What if it’s more like my grandma’s dinner bell? It’s strong, yes. But it also gathers, warms, resets, and welcomes.

Proverbs 8 paints a picture of Lady Wisdom crying out:

“Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand …” (Proverbs 8:1-2).

She neither whispers from the shadows nor shouts to impress. Instead, she raises her voice at the crossroads, where passersby must reckon with her call. She doesn’t boast or speak over others. Rather, she guides, inviting all who hear her voice to fear the Lord, to choose the path of wisdom.

In Luke 13:34, Jesus likened Himself to a mother hen gathering her chicks. I wonder if He claimed this feminine imagery for Himself to highlight the unique power of a woman’s voice. When our hearts are shaped by God’s Word and Spirit, our voices can become powerful invitations for others to know Christ, belong to Him, and live in His freedom.

Despite what the world says, you don’t need a microphone or a platform. You just need to speak up wherever God has placed you: in your kitchen, at your workplace, on the playground, around your table. Your voice — anchored in truth, seasoned with grace, and empowered by the One to whom Lady Wisdom pointed all along — might be exactly what someone needs to hear today.

Like a bell ringing out in a quiet night, it might be just what the Lord uses to help others find their way home.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me a voice and for calling me to speak in wisdom and love. Help me to raise my voice with humility and courage. Give me wisdom to steward the opportunities You’ve given me to speak. Please use my words as Your instrument of grace. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

OUR FAVORITE THINGS

For a gospel-rich invitation to steward your voice and step into the spacious place God has for you, grab a copy of Kendra Dahl’s book, A Place for You: Reframing Christian Womanhood.

ENGAGE

Visit kendradahl.com or follow @kendra_dahl_ on Instagram for encouragement on finding your voice and place in the Church.

FOR DEEPER STUDY

Proverbs 31:26, “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue” (ESV).

Colossians 4:6, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (ESV).

Where in your life is God inviting you to raise your voice with wisdom?

Who around you needs to hear words of truth, grace, or encouragement today? Share with us in the comments!

© 2025 by Kendra Dahl. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 31 Ministries
P.O. Box 3189
Matthews, NC 28106
www.Proverbs31.org