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Fun fact about me: I love The Voice. It’s one of my favorite shows. I also love seeing God’s truth illustrated in art and in everyday interactions. So while watching a couple of weeks ago a few things stood out to me that were great illustrations of lessons the Bible teaches us about how to live.

Before we jump in here’s a quick rundown on how the show works, in case you’re unfamiliar.

The first round of the competition, the Blind Auditions, consists of aspiring artists singing for the four celebrity coaches who have their backs turned to the artist. Judging solely on their voice, the coaches push a button and their chairs turn around indicating that they want an artist to join their team. If more than one coach chooses an artist, the coaches each try to convince that artist why they should choose them as their coach and ultimately the artist decides who they will work with during the competition.

Here are three biblical lessons to learn from The Voice.

1. Rejoice with those who rejoice.

Artist Josh Gallagher auditioned, and after Blake Shelton and Alicia Keys both turned their chairs for him, he ultimately made the decision to join Blake Shelton’s team. As the crowd begins to celebrate Alicia Keys starts clapping as well, applauding Josh for officially being on the show.  As I watched this happen, this verse came to mind.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15, emphasis mine)

It struck me to watch the other coaches-particularly Alicia because she was vying alongside Blake to have Josh on her team-celebrate with Josh for making it onto a team and with Blake for getting an amazing artist…even though they themselves didn’t gain the artist on their team.

Let’s face it. It’s hard to celebrate with people when things are happening in their lives that we wish were happening in our own.

Relationships.  Dream job.  Finally overcoming some area of struggle.  You name it.

But what if we genuinely celebrated the “wins” of others?  What if we rejoiced with them in what God is doing in their lives?

What if we didn’t let feelings of comparison and competition cloud our ability to share a moment of joy with them? (Or our ability to acknowledge and thank God for what He is doing in our own lives.)

Particularly as it relates to brothers and sisters in the family of God, we are all one body-to use the analogy of 1 Corinthians 12. We care for each other and we work together. If we start competing our health, growth and effectiveness are weakened. Because we are one, when one “part of the body” is honored, all the parts are glad. If it’s a win for one of us, it’s a win for all of us. (1 Corinthians 12:25-27)

Watch Josh’s Blind Auditon below:

The Voice 2016 Blind Audition – Josh Gallagher: “Stay a Little Longer”

Video clip from Season 11, Episode 5 of The Voice: Blind Auditions Part 4, aired 9/27/16 on NBC.

2. Don’t give in to discouragement.

When [Jesus] had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! (Luke 5:4-6)

I love this story in Luke 5:1-10 because Peter, at the encouragement of Jesus, gives something another try that he had been unsuccessful in before. What would have happened if he had given up because they had worked hard all night and caught nothing? If Jesus wouldn’t have nudged him further?

He wouldn’t have had that incredible catch of fish (how he made his living), which Jesus also used to illustrate another calling He had for Peter: to help bring people into the Kingdom of God.

Nolan Neal auditioned for The Voice last year but didn’t make it on a team. Taking the coaches’ advice he came back and auditioned again this year. This time? All four coaches wanted him on their team. He gave such a stirring performance and I’m glad he didn’t give up when he encountered a setback.  Nolan is one of many such stories of success after what initially seemed like a failure.

There are times when God will close doors in our lives because He is preventing us from going in that direction or redirecting us to something else. In those instances we need to trust God and shift gears as He is leading us.

But there is also an element of persistence in our prayers and in our faith, of fighting through obstacles and setbacks, of giving it another shot that the Bible talks about.  (Matthew 7:7-11 // Luke 18:1-8 // Romans 4:18-21)

There are two instances in the New Testament in which the apostle Paul references setbacks he and his companions faced as they travelled to spread the message of Jesus and to connect with believers in various cities.

In 1 Thessalonians 2:18 he says they wanted to come visit the believers in Thessalonica but Satan prevented them. In Acts 16:6-10 he says the Holy Spirit prevented them from preaching the Word in the provinces of Asia and Bithynia.

Both were situations where they were prevented from doing something they were trying to do, something they even felt prompted by God to do, but there was an obstacle and they needed to shift gears. Paul had the discernment to know in each instance whether the setback came from the Holy Spirit or from the resistance of the devil.

In the second story, after preventing Paul and Silas from preaching in two provinces, the Holy Spirit faithfully redirected them toward Macedonia, letting them know that He wanted them to share the message of Jesus there at that time.

Because we have Jesus living in us through the Holy Spirit, just like Paul and his companions did, we also have access to the discernment to know whether Jesus is telling us to “cast our net or the other side” and try again because there’s progress and victory on the other side of our persistence or if He is saying that He’s closing one door so we can be directed to something else.

Whether it looks the way we expected or not, we can follow Jesus knowing that He leads us along the best pathway for our lives. (Psalm 32:8)

Watch Nolan’s Blind Audition below:

The Voice 2016 Blind Audition – Nolan Neal: “Tiny Dancer”

Video clip from Season 11, Episode 5 of The Voice: Blind Auditions Part 4, aired 9/27/16 on NBC.

3. Let your speech be good, encouraging and helpful.

Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. (Ephesians 4:29)

One of the things I love most about The Voice is the positive, encouraging tone of the show.

Whether the coaches are giving compliments or constructive criticism, the tone is always helpful and encouraging and the intention always to help contestants grow in their craft.

Are the words we say and the way we say them good, helpful and encouraging to those who hear them?

Are we intentional about encouraging others?

Is our tone and word choice helpful and encouraging even when we are speaking constructively to people?

There are real people-real image bearers of God with real hearts-on the other end of our words. Our words and their impact are valuable and to be taken seriously.

I don’t know about you but I constantly need to be reminded of the power of my words. I’m grateful that God finds a way to do that, even through my favorite TV show.

Check out The Voice if you don’t watch it already.  And if you like to debrief episodes like I do and you need a buddy, find me on social media. I’m your girl.

Let’s Talk: What resonated with you from the lessons above and how can you apply it this week?  How have you seen God’s truth illustrated in art or in an everyday experience before?  Discuss this post in the comments below.

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