Although Jim Caldwell had a solid tenure with the Detroit Lions over the last four years (including three winning seasons), he was fired this week because he couldn’t get the team to the next level.

Caldwell was well respected and helped in the development of Matthew Stafford, but the Lions struggled to win the big games – especially against the top teams in the league. With Detroit never even playing in a Super Bowl, they hope their new coach will help break through their mediocrity.

Caldwell’s limited success caused Lions’ General Manager, Bob Quinn, to realize the team needed “a change in leadership, a new voice.”

Often in sports, the voice of the Head Coach no longer gets through to his players and they eventually tune him out. This results in the team needing a spark, so a different voice becomes the obvious solution.

As we begin a New Year and look at making changes, it’s important to discern what voices we listen to. What voice is having the most impact on our lives? Have we gotten to the point where we’ve been tuning out the voice of God…or are we hearing Him clearly?

If we’ve allowed ourselves to listen to the voice of the enemy, or culture, or the negativity of others, it’s time to get a new voice. The most powerful and loving voice is available to us if we choose to listen.

God speaks through His Word, through prayer, through circumstances, and through trustworthy people. We must acknowledge if we’ve been listening to the wrong voices, so that we make necessary changes to exclusively follow God’s voice.

The Bible tells us in John 8:47 (AMP), “Whoever is of God and belongs to Him hears [the truth of] God’s words; for this reason you do not hear them: because you are not of God and you are not in fellowship with Him.”

Jesus says in John 10:27 (NLT), ”My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.”

Just like an NFL team understands the importance of having the right voice in the locker room, and knows when to get a different voice in there, we too can rely on the right voice (God’s voice) to lead and guide us each day.

He has provided a way for us to fellowship with Him through Jesus, and is the only voice that gives us hope…peace…and clarity.

I’m Bryce Johnson and you can unpack that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing me to have access to Your voice to direct and comfort me. I’m thankful for the Holy Spirit who lives in me and provides promptings and guidance. I pray I’d listen to Your voice above all else and silence the ones that are trying to bring me down. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.