The King Who Could Not Speak

In the 2010 film The King's Speech, King George VI stands before a microphone in 1939, tasked with addressing the entire British Empire as war with Germany looms. For a man who has stammered painfully since childhood — who has been mocked, dismissed, and paralyzed by the simple act of speaking — this moment represents his deepest terror made public.

What strikes me is that his courage is not the absence of fear. His hands tremble. His jaw tightens. He knows that millions are listening, and he knows what his voice sounds like when it betrays him. Yet he steps forward anyway, armed only with the breathing exercises his speech therapist Lionel Logue taught him, and the knowledge that his people need to hear from their king.

He speaks. Haltingly at first, then with growing steadiness. Not perfectly — never perfectly — but faithfully.

Scripture never promises us that obedience will feel comfortable. When the Almighty told Moses, "Go to Pharaoh," Moses protested, "I am slow of speech." God did not remove the impediment. He said, "I will be with your mouth."

Courage is not waiting until your voice stops shaking. Courage is opening your mouth while it still shakes, trusting that the God who called you will carry the words the rest of the way. Your congregation does not need your perfection. They need your faithfulness.