I started playing basketball at a very young age. I simply loved the game. I love the competition, the roar of the crowd, the silence that changes momentum and the heart-pounding intensity of going back and forth until the last buzzer sounds.  I like the noise that makes you focus and tune in to hear the only real voices that matter. 

Your heart is telling your head, “You got this!” or your head saying to your heart, “One more play!” 

You dial in, focus and grind become your motivation, but you still have to drown out the noise in front of you and the noise around you.  As an athlete learning what to receive and what to filter out is half the battle. Leaning into the right voices are crucial to your success. 

I will never forget playing in the Southwest Conference tournament in college and missing my first couple of shots in Reunion Arena. I don’t remember if I was nervous or off, but the sound of 16,000 fans strong rang in my ears. All of a sudden, I heard a voice in the crowd yell, “Bring your elbow in, hold your follow-through!” In the middle of the noise, I heard the only voice that counted, it was my dad and I was transported to my driveway where time and repetition made it easy to recognize his voice above all others.

In Isaiah 30:21, we hear a promise of direction from the voice of God, our Heavenly Father, “whether you turn to the left or to the right you will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way walk in it.’”  In John 10, Jesus tells those who are in attendance about the role of the shepherd “And the sheep recognize the voice of the true Shepherd, for he calls his own by name and leads them out, for they belong to him.  And when he has brought out all his sheep, he walks ahead of them and they will follow him, for they are familiar with his voice.” 

The world is full of noise and crowds, but we must spend time with the Father so that His voice becomes the most dominant in the crowd. Learn to be accountable to His voice, listen as He leads you out.