This coming week in the Nebraska Legislature, a judiciary committee will begin to hear testimonies and statements from citizens regarding opinions on LB781: Adopt the Heartbeat Act. This bill, if passed, will protect unborn children from the threat of legal abortion in our state once their heartbeat has been detected. While I personally believe that a conceived child is a true and unique life even in the weeks before a fetal heartbeat first occurs, I appreciate this bill and the good that it can do if the legislation is passed and enforced. There are so many tiny, precious lives to be saved.

I’m not the type to attend a lot of big protest rallies or get up in the faces of other people via obnoxious, disrespectful debates. But I do have very strong opinions on matters such as this one. I think I’d forgotten, in fact, just how passionately I felt about it.

Until the day a brother from church encouraged me and others to speak up, to speak out, in the forum we were welcome to join. And I thought to myself, “Well, I can’t attend the hearings directly because I have to work at that time. But he says we can submit written statements for the committee’s consideration. I can at the very least do that.”

So, I sat down this afternoon to start writing my statement. And the more I wrote, the more I felt the need to write–to speak and to be heard, for the sake of those who cannot yet speak with words we can understand. When I finished writing, I felt a bit drained for all the energy it had taken to formulate the words and for all the goodness I felt over the thought of sharing my thoughts in the days ahead.

The Bible urges people to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves…” (Proverbs 31:8-9). When we will do so, we can be a tremendous blessing to those poor, needy, and voiceless ones. And when we do so, we receive a blessing in return: a blessing in knowing we have used the voice and words God has given us to do something really important in the world. The things we have said may fall on deaf ears in a human sense, but they will still have never been spoken or written in vain. Because God, the greatest Judge and the Most Just One sees and hears. And He is the one who returns blessings for obedience, time spent, reputations risked.

Whether it be speaking against murder of innocents, standing up to a bully to protect a less powerful person, or taking part in similar activities, we must choose wisely when we will speak up and speak out. Let us do what we can in the days and weeks He gives us to bless others in this way. Use your voice, friends, and be blessed in return.