October 27
The Spilling Out of Life
"A soothing tongue is a tree of life,"
Words can bring healing to the wounded places or they can open up the wound bringing a fresh wave of grief all over again. It’s the slander of others that keep wounds from healing. I know the pain that words can cause. I’ve been a victim to them as many of you have been as well. You can live a good life in the Lord, serve faithfully for 30 years and no one really remembers that about you. But if you blow it one time, act unbecoming one time, or if someone else speaks ill of you all the 30 years of good are forgotten. All people will remember is the one bad. Why? Power and life are in the tongue. The sad thing is that there are always the repeat offenders, the bad will keep showing up, re-told with the new added for flavor and your testimony dies a slow and painful death. There is power and life in the tongue…in our words.
We can destroy the work of God with one ill spoken thing whether it’s true or someone’s version of the truth. The greatest grievance to the name of God in this is the fact that it happens in the body of Christ. I’ve seen the posse in church form and go on a man hunt with their words. They want to take the preacher down or another leader or member because they were hurt by them or disappointed. They start the strife, build their team, and spread the word to anyone and everyone who will listen. People will believe a lie before they will believe the truth often times. Before you know it, a good testimony is destroyed because someone refused to set a guard about their mouth. Slander sets a church on fire with destruction and burns down the lives of God’s people in the process. I’ve seen the ruins that the words of others have left behind. Those ruins have been my own life at times. Words are so powerful, daughter, they are so destructive yet can be altogether lovely when purposed to be so.
But God has given us a healing balm to apply in the hearts of the hurting, beloved. Listen to the Psalmist words: "Anxiety in the heart of a man weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad". (Proverbs 12:25) There are those who have never heard a gentle and kind word spoken to them. Everyone longs to hear kindness, to be spoken too in love and fullness of acceptance. Would they be able to hear it from you? What words do you invest in the lives of others? We are all investing something be it good or bad.
Sow the seeds of your word wisely.
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.
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