Finding Voice

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
    for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
    defend the rights of the poor and needy.
          - Proverbs 31:8-9

The entire chapter of Genesis 34 is about the rape of Dinah, and yet not once do we get to hear her voice. There's too much posturing, bargaining, shouting, and eventually killing being done by the men in the story for there to be enough space for her to give words to her pain, her thoughts, her story. Her perpetrator speaks at her, her brothers speak about her, and her father speaks without mentioning her. But Dinah gets no airtime. 

It's no wonder that the scriptures above are some of the verses in the bible that we know came from a woman (in this case, the mother of King Lemuel - see Proverbs 31:1). Clearly Lemuel's mother knew what it was like to have no voice. Perhaps she knew many women who, because of the violence in their lives "cannot speak for themselves." It's as if God has been trying to sneak in this care for the voice-less throughout the ages, always advocating for those on the margins.

So how about you - who do you need to speak up for? Who do you need to pass the microphone to? Who do you need to sit and really listen to? Maybe it's yourself and your own story, maybe it's someone else's. One way or the other, let Jesus lead you there - he's the best listener of all.