Called. Chosen. Loved.
The Voice We Find by Nicole Deese is a very charming contemporary Christian novel that I adored. It is the third book in A Fog Harbor Romance series but can be read as a stand-alone.
The story is seen through three different points of view of the three lead characters. It is told in the first person so we really get inside the character’s heads.
There is the major theme of trusting God. We can trust Him in the good times and we can trust Him in the bad. “How when I was scared, He took away my fear… I do know I can trust Him. So that’s what I’m going to do.” Choosing to trust is the best thing we can do. God will never let us down.
Trust in God is linked to God’s plans. “I don’t understand why things happened the way they did, but I trust God has a plan.” God will use all our circumstances for growth and for good. “She believes He has a plan even in the hard times.” It takes a lot of faith to cling on and to trust that God’s plan is good even when circumstances aren’t.
We hear of a couple who served God and tragically lost their lives. This left their daughter with health issues, as she was in the same freak accident, and it severely shook their son’s faith. “There’s no redemption plan that will bring my parents back after they died serving a God who hadn’t bothered to answer their prayers.” Bitterness has become the wall between him and God. He has carried stuff he was never meant to carry. “I… finally surrender the burdens God never asked me to carry.” When we surrender to God, we can live in freedom.”
There is much rejoicing when the prodigal returns home. “You can come back… There’s no expiration date when it comes to surrender.”
We are asked to come as we are. “I don’t think I’d ever be welcome in a church…I’ve made a lot of poor choices I can’t ever take back.” The church is not full of perfect people but full of people who know perfectly well that they need God.
A character “believes church is the solution to every ailment we face in life.” Churches point us to God. We learn about Him in our Bibles which is God’s instruction manual for planet earth.
Hope is powerful. “Hope is a strange thing. It keeps right on living even when you feel like dying.” When we have hope, we can face the future. “Hope. It’s incredible how a small dose can have such a drastic effect on a person’s outlook, even if immediate circumstances haven’t changed at all.”
Prayer is important. It is communing with God. “Say a prayer to the same God my Gigi loved with her whole heart and hope He’ll guide me.” The baton of faith has been passed on.
When we know Jesus, we are called to live out our faith. “A band who sang about Jesus on stage, and lived like they knew nothing about Him as soon as they stepped off it.” We are not called to be ‘Sunday Christians’, we are called to live out our faith daily.
A character is deaf but is able to speak using ASL. We see the importance of having a voice heard. Ironically it is those who are hearing who need to find the courage to speak up.
We need to face our fears, only by facing them can we defeat them.
All the characters were warm and welcoming.
The Voice We Find was a powerful tale of faith and living it out daily as we know we are loved by God.
I will leave you with my favourite quote:
“There is no place too far, too hopeless, too dark, too sinful, too apathetic, too unreachable for your Good Shepard to find you. He’s already called you chosen; the question is, will you choose Him?”
I received a free copy from the publishers. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
JULIA WILSON
