Word Power

Proverbs 18:21,"The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences."

Our words have power. With words God created the heavens and the earth.  Genesis 1:3, 6, “Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. Then God said, ‘Let there be...’ Genesis 1:11, “Then God said, ‘Let the land sprout with vegetation...’"

With words Jesus cursed a fig tree. Matthew 21:18-19,"In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up."

Our words have the same power. We can build ourselves and others up or we can tear ourselves and others down. Proverbs 12:18,"The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."

To illustrate, when I was a young teen, someone I trusted and respected told me I had a beautiful voice.  I have never been ashamed or embarrassed to sing because she spoke words of encouragement and life into my spirit.  On the other hand, someone I love dearly told me often when I was growing up that I was fat and ugly.  As an adult, I realize that he was teasing me and didn't really mean it.  However, I have struggled with my self-image, which adversely affected my self-esteem, all my life. 

Which of these “words” do you think the enemy reminds me of often?  Both!!!  Yes, it is true, he reminds me of the positive, uplifting words when he wants to work on pride in my life.  He tempts me to think more of my voice than I ought. He also reminds me of the negative, hurtful words daily as well.  I have to work hard every day to fight against negative feelings about my body.  I can tell you from personal experience, I would rather have to fight against pride then self-image and self-esteem issues.  Our words have so much power: life and death are in our tongue. 

David asked in Psalm 19:14,"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." What we say and what we focus our thoughts on will determine the course of our life. Philippians 4:8,"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

When we go through hard times or face circumstances we don't like it is easy to say things that will only make it worse. We can encourage ourselves like David, Psalm 42:5, "Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." Or we can choose to speak negatively to ourselves and our situation.

When our lives feel weighed down by cares and trouble, we need to speak out God's promises and encourage our spirits. Proverbs 12:25,"Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up."

Sometimes there will be someone there to encourage us, however, we must encourage ourselves and speak to our spirit and tell it how to think. When we allow our flesh to dictate our feelings and our reactions to the things we face we will feel defeated, and sadly, we will end up defeated. Jesus told us in John 6:63 (ESV),"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life."

Another area we need to think about is how we speak to others when we are in a conflict.  It is easy to want to return hurt for hurt.  Someone says something unkind to us, and we want to spout off with a string of hurtful words to.  The Word tells us that this is not ok. Ephesians 4:29, “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”  Proverbs 16:24, “Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”  Proverbs 17:9, “Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.”  If we are responding to the other individual and not reacting, we can control our tongue and speak words that will be helpful to them, not harmful.

I have often heard people say, “Well if the truth hurts…”  The Word says to speak the truth in love.  Ephesians 4:15, “Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.”  It is often necessary to point out something to another that is uncomfortable or hard, but even in those times; our words can be tempered with love.  While the truth may hurt, it doesn't have to be hurtful. When our focus is on building others and our own spirit up, we will use words that are like apples of gold in settings of silver: priceless.  Proverbs 25:11(ESV), “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.”

We must work on our speech and thought habits. Are we speaking health and life to ourselves and those around us? Or are we speaking death?

All Scriptures are NLT unless otherwise stated.