May 13
The Power of Words
“....a word as is good for edification…”
There was a young man who had spoken some very bad things about his neighbor that weren’t true. He was angry with him and so he spread this untruth about his neighbor all over the town. This hurt the neighbor very badly and in time he began to retreat away from everyone and everything until soon he was scarcely seen. The man who had been spreading the rumor began to feel badly about what he had done and he went to his minister to seek some advice. After listening to what the man had done the minister handed him a bag containing 100 feathers. He instructed the man to go home and pour these feathers out into the field near his home. Once he had done this the man was to return to see the minister. When he arrived the minister asked him if he had done exactly what he had asked him to do. After assuring the minister he had, the minister told the man to go back home and collect all the feathers back in the bag, and once he had done this then all would return to normal.
After many days the man returned to see the minister. The man was very depressed and very tired. He explained to the minister how hard and diligent he had tried to collect all the feathers but when he returned to where he had poured them out they were all gone for the wind had carried them away. The minister explained to the man that just as the feathers had been carried away by the wind never to be collected again, so were the words he had spoken about his neighbor. What a sobering truth. How often I have spoken words and even as they were pouring forth from my lips I was already wanting to retrieve them. Have you ever felt this way? Have you ever spoken words in anger in the pain of a moment, or even in fun, only to regret it later? Have you ever hurt someone by the words you’ve spoken? Words are a powerful tool that God has given to us. So often we forget the powerful affect our words have on the ears they fall upon.
Choose this day to speak words that are good only for edification, for building up. If you were to make a list of everyone whom you know will hear the sound of your voice today, i.e., your spouse, children, co-workers, neighbors etc.., would you also recognize the potential to strongly affect their lives for better or for worse? With the power of words and the audience God gives us to speak comes great responsibility. You can never retrieve the words you’ve already spoken, but you can choose wisely the words you will speak in the future.
May your mouth be filled with goodness, and may the hearer be blessed by being in your presence.
Pearls of Grace is a book of devotions for the entire year, including a read through the Bible in a year calendar, broken down for every day. Beautifully written with encouraging words of hope and empowering words of joy and strength for every woman. Pam draws from the truth and richness of God's Word and gives real life examples in her down to earth style. A must have in your library, click here for more information.
For more from Pam Jenkins and Jabbok Ministries, please visit www.jabbokministries.com!
Listen to Pam Jenkins's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.
For more from Pam Jenkins and Jabbok Ministries, please visit www.jabbokministries.com!
Listen to Pam Jenkins's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.
