Whisper

  17. Psalm 16:11.

  18. Philippians 2:12.

  19. See Hebrews 12:2.

  20. See Matthew 27:26.

  21. “Jesus’ Nails,” All About Jesus Christ, www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/​jesus-nails-faq.htm.

  22. See 2 Corinthians 5:21.

  23. See 2 Samuel 12:16–18.

  24. See Acts 2:26, MSG.

  25. This account was told to the author by Dan Beutler and is used with the Beutlers’ permission.

  26. See Psalm 35:1.

  27. See Psalm 32:7.

  28. See Romans 8:34.

  29. See Colossians 2:14.

  30. See Psalm 17:8.

  31. Psalm 5:1, HCSB.

  32. Psalm 5:1, HCSB.

  33. See Romans 8:26.

  34. See Lamentations 3:22–23.

  35. Job 1:20.

  36. Darrell Evans, “Trading My Sorrows,” Integrity’s Hosanna! Music, 1998.

  37. Jason Ingram, David Leonard, and Leslie Jordan, “Great Are You, Lord,” Integrity’s Alleluia! Music, 2012.

  38. See John 1:12; Psalm 17:8; Luke 19:10; Romans 8:37; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Philippians 3:8–9; 4:13.

  Epilogue: The Whisper Test

  1. George Vaillant, Triumphs of Experience: The Men of the Harvard Grant Study (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2012), 43.

  2. Vaillant, Triumphs of Experience, 42.

  3. Vaillant, Triumphs of Experience, 52.

  4. Vaillant, Triumphs of Experience, 50.

  5. See Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 28:19; John 14:6.

  6. 1 John 4:16.

  7. A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (New York: HarperOne, 1961), 1.

  8. Justin Welby, “ ‘The Only Certainty in the World Is Jesus Christ’—Archbishop Speaks at New Wine Conference,” Archbishop of Canterbury, March 7, 2016, www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/​articles.php/​5680/​the-only-certainty-in-the-world-is-jesus-christ-archbishop-speaks-at-new-wine-conference.

  9. This story has been quoted and misquoted, but I believe it to be a true story based on e-mail confirmation from Bird’s daughters. You can find those e-mail messages at Brian, “On Compassion: The Whisper Test,” Leader Helps, February 6, 2017, http://leaderhelps.com/​2017/​02/​06/​on-compassion-the-whisper-test/.

  10. Mary Ann Bird, quoted in Brian, “On Compassion.”

  11. Bird, quoted in Brian, “On Compassion.”

  12. “How a Mother’s Voice Shapes Her Baby’s Developing Brain,” Aeon, https://aeon.co/​ideas/​how-a-mother-s-voice-shapes-her-baby-s-developing-brain.

  13. See Psalm 139:13, 16; Philippians 1:6.