Hey Y’all!
It’s been a while since I’ve been busy down here in Tampa with the conferences going on. If you’re a guy, there’s going to be an epic men’s conference at my church called Righteous NEXT WEEK and I 100% think you should make your way here if possible. It’s already August and so many interesting things are popping up left and right and I’m so excited to share some of the things I’ve been learning best most recently. One of the biggest lessons life has brought me is the power of my words. They affect my today, my tomorrow, and my future. Your words do the same for yourself! Sometimes we do say things we ought to not say though… Does it happen? Yes. What do you do when you’ve allowed yourself to say those things? You have to recognize the power of your words first and line your words up with the Word.
Your Words Have Power
One of the most beautiful things about the Lord is His creative power. It was His Words that brought together this earth we get to walk on. His breath brought life to mankind. You read all over Genesis in the first few chapters “God said” and then what He said was. As children of God, we learn that our words equally have creative power! Proverbs 18:24 says, “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” What we walk in now comes from words we’ve spoken or words we’ve let other people speak into our lives and have made our own. Sometimes these words are great and other times…not so much. I can be the first to say that I had the biggest problem with controlling my tongue. I would say such negative statements, speak calamity over my life, speak stress and anxiety into my life, and basically spoke a rain cloud over myself. I had to really open my eyes and see that a lot of what I walked in was my own fault. Sometimes it was also a result of thoughts I let take root in my heart.
Luke 6:45 says, “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” What you say comes from your HEART! It’s the same way I tell people there’s a little truth in every joke. Every word we say whether we think we mean them or not displays our heart posture in different ways. Words are seeds so be mindful because they will come back to you one way or another. Genuinely examine your words and find out if what you said was life giving not just to you but those around you too. There are things to be said that give life and there are words better left unsaid.
Line Your Words Up With THE Word
You need to guard your heart and the best way to do that is by guarding your mind. The mind is a powerful thing and when we think on things it takes root into our hearts which is why I said guard your heart! It’s such an important thing. To get your words in line with the word you need to renew your mind. Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” You renew your mind when you spend time in the word and allow the word to wash you. Ephesians 5:26 talks about the washing of the word. I don’t know about you but because I live in Florida, when I hear the word wash I think about washing my face after being sweaty all day and how clean and refreshed it makes me feel. The word does the same. Reading the word washes us; and all over the word we learn about what we ought to say. Not every thought we say is our own so we cast down every imagination just like Corinthians says to and keep our mind on what holy, pure, right, etc. like Ephesians says. When we do that we allow our words to reflect what the word is, who Jesus was/is, and create a joyful world around us where we go because we speak life and when you speak life people who also speak life will surround you and those who don’t will learn from you. When your words line up with the word it benefits you and your surroundings. Proverbs talks about how important words are. They bring life and wounds to a friend, they build and tear down relationships, they bring light and drive out darkness.
Choose Life
Sometimes a preacher I listen to says this, “right feelings follow right words, not right words follow right feelings.” We can’t live by our emotions but if we keep speaking life, joy, & words that bring truth, then our actions and emotions will line up with it. Don’t let one inconvenience in your morning make you say, “well today is just off to a bad start and will probably be awful the rest of it.” Tell yourself, “Today is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it! You give me joy unspeakable!” The more you speak those words of life over yourself it will shift your attitude. I’ve had some off mornings but my confession as a whole has saved my day because it helps me turn my eyes on the Lord and brings about a thankful heart. You can’t speak of negativity and thankfulness at the same time. You have to pick. The word always shows us that we have a choice. Deuteronomy says that we have life and death set before us but the Lord wants us to choose life but the key is that WE are the ones to choose. Choose joy, choose life, choose good words. You eat the fruit of your lips so make sure it’s something you want to eat! At the end of the day learning to control the tongue brings peace because we won’t speak things that stir up an argument and things seem so small in comparison to the good around us. I hope when you ask yourself “should I have said that?” that what you said is something you should have certainly said whether it’s I forgive you, I have joy, I am the head and not the tail, and more. Say the good things, it’ll only ever lead to more good.
Keziah-Grace Lopes
Peace + Pursuit
