Speak Life – The Power of Your Words

Words are powerful. They can build or destroy, encourage or discourage, heal or wound. Most of us can remember something spoken to us years ago that still affects us today. Maybe it was a word of encouragement that gave us confidence when we needed it most. Unfortunately, it may have been a careless comment that created a wound we carried much longer than the person who spoke it ever realized.
  Scripture makes the power of our words unmistakably clear: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21, ESV). Notice that Solomon gives us two possibilities—death and life. God hasn't simply given us a mouth capable of hurting someone; He's given us a mouth capable of helping heal someone.
  That's why following Jesus requires more than simply learning to stop saying the wrong things. God calls us to intentionally start saying the right things. The question isn't only, “Am I watching my mouth?” Perhaps the greater question is, “What am I doing with it?”

Encouragement rarely happens accidentally. Criticism, on the other hand, seems to come naturally. We notice what went wrong, what wasn't completed, what someone could have done better, or where they fell short. Life-giving people learn to look beyond what is
wrong and intentionally search for opportunities to build others.
  Paul gives us a powerful standard in Ephesians 4:29 when he tells us that our words should be “good for building up” and should “give grace to those who hear.” Think about that for a moment. Every conversation gives us an opportunity to add something to another
person's life.
  You can add courage to someone who is discouraged. You can add hope to someone who is struggling. You can add confidence to a child who doubts themselves. You can add strength to an exhausted spouse. You can add faith to someone who feels like quitting.
  Someone in your world needs you to become intentional about speaking life. Your spouse shouldn't have to wonder what you appreciate about them. Your children shouldn't only hear from you when they've done something wrong. Sometimes one of the most
spiritual things you can do is look someone in the eye and say, “I'm proud of you. I believe in you. I see what God is doing in your life. Keep going.” Life-giving people don't wait for opportunities to encourage. They create them.

Speaking life doesn't mean pretending everything is okay when it isn't. Biblical faith is not denial. David was honest when he hurt. Jeremiah was honest when he grieved. Job was honest when he suffered. Even Jesus wept. God is not intimidated by our emotions.
  There is, however, a difference between acknowledging how we feel and allowing how we feel to determine what we believe. In Psalm 42, David actually speaks to his own soul: “Why are you cast down, O my soul?... Hope in God.” David acknowledged the reality of his
emotions, but then reminded himself of the character of his God.
  Sometimes we have to do the same thing. “I'm discouraged, but God is still faithful. I'm hurting, but God is still good. I don't understand, but God is still sovereign. I don't see the answer yet, but I'm still going to hope in God.”
  That's not denying reality. That's placing reality underneath the authority of God's Word. Faith speaks what God says even before it sees what God is doing. Your circumstances don't get the final word. God does.

There is a man in the New Testament named Joseph whom the apostles gave another name: Barnabas, meaning “son of encouragement.” What a reputation to have! Barnabas became known as someone who saw potential in people that others overlooked.
  When people were suspicious of Saul because of his past, Barnabas stood beside him. When John Mark experienced failure and needed another opportunity, Barnabas believed in him. He had learned to look beyond where people were and see where the grace of God
could take them.
  What would happen if we became that kind of people? What if our homes were filled with affirmation? What if our teenagers regularly heard, “God has a purpose for your life”? What if someone recovering from failure heard, “Your worst chapter doesn't have to become your final chapter”? What if the person ready to quit heard, “Keep going.
God isn't finished with you”?
  Never underestimate the power of one Spirit-led sentence. You may forget saying it, but someone else may remember it for the rest of their life. Your words can become the environment where someone else finds the courage to grow.

Ultimately, changing our words requires more than willpower. Scripture reminds us that no human being can completely tame the tongue. The answer isn't simply trying harder. The answer is surrender.
  When the Holy Spirit begins transforming our hearts, He also begins transforming the way we communicate. Love changes how we speak. Patience changes when we speak. Kindness changes what we speak. Gentleness changes how strongly we speak. And self-control sometimes reminds us that the most Spirit-filled response is saying nothing at all.
  Jesus taught that our mouths speak from the abundance of our hearts. That means our greatest problem isn't ultimately a mouth problem. It's a heart problem. The Gospel doesn't begin by cleaning up our vocabulary. It begins with Jesus giving us a new heart.
  When Jesus changes our hearts, He changes our thinking. When He changes our thinking, He changes our speaking. And when He changes our speaking, He can begin changing the atmosphere everywhere we go.

So here's the challenge: don't simply watch your mouth—use it. Speak life over your marriage. Speak life over your children and grandchildren. Speak life over your coworkers. Speak life to the person who's struggling. Speak life to the person everybody else has
given up on.
  Tell somebody, “I believe in you.” Tell somebody, “God isn't finished with you.” Tell somebody, “I'm praying for you.” Tell your children, “God has a purpose for your life.” Tell your spouse, “I'm thankful God gave me you.” And when everything around you says
there is no hope, open your mouth and declare the faithfulness of your God.
  We live in a world already filled with enough criticism, anger, division, negativity, and death. Let's be different. Let's become people whose words sound like we've been in the presence of Jesus—words of truth filled with grace, conviction filled with love, and faith filled with hope.
  Words that heal. Words that encourage. Words that build. Words that point people toward Jesus. Because death and life really are in the power of the tongue. So, watch your mouth... and then speak life!