"I have nothing valuable to say. My thoughts and opinions don't count. I should just stay quiet."
How it sounds in your head: When you try to share ideas, you get interrupted or ignored. Adults talk over you. Friends don't listen. You've learned it's safer to just stay silent because what you say doesn't matter anyway. Your voice is worthless.
"But the Lord said to me: 'Do not say, I am a youth, For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,' says the Lord. Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: 'Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.'"
-- Jeremiah 1:7-9Enemy strategy to silence God-given voice by exploiting age-based dismissal and typical pre-teen communication awkwardness.
At this age your thoughts are developing but your communication skills lag behind. You get interrupted because adults assume you have nothing important to say. You feel the gap between what you think and how it comes out, making you believe your thoughts aren't valuable.
Jeremiah tried to disqualify himself saying 'I am a youth, I cannot speak.' God rejected that excuse instantly, touched his mouth, put His words in him, and appointed him as a prophet to nations—not someday when he's older, but immediately despite his young age and communication fears.
I REFUSE the lie that my voice doesn't matter or my thoughts aren't valuable. IT IS WRITTEN that God told Jeremiah not to say 'I am a youth' as an excuse for silence because God had words to put in his mouth. I am not too young or unimportant to speak. Out of my mouth God ordains strength and praise. IT IS WRITTEN that I am blessed in all I do, the head and not the tail. My words carry weight, my thoughts have value, and God Himself gives me things to say. I speak with confidence and authority because God backs my voice.
The Father isn't waiting for you to be older or more articulate to care what you think. He's leaning in to hear every word you say, celebrating your unique perspective, excited about what He put in you to communicate—running toward you with delight over the voice He gave you right now.