Ephesians 4:29 (TPT)
“And never let ugly or hateful words come from your mouth, but instead let your words become beautiful gifts that encourage others; do this by speaking words of grace that help them”.
Proverbs 12:18 (TPT)
“Reckless words are like the thrusts of a sword, cutting remarks meant to stab and to hurt. But the words of the wise soothe and heal”.
We live in a world that bombards us with negativity everywhere we turn. From the news to social media, we see a culture yelling inadequacy, insecurity, doubt, shame, and death to women. We see bitter hearts speaking words that sting with jealousy, grudges, or conflict, critical hearts spewing disparaging, demeaning words, self-righteous hearts hidden behind judgmental words, and thankless hearts under non-stop complaints. Not everything in life is life-giving. This is not who or how we were created to be.
Part of the preparation in the in-between is learning the power of our words. We’ve been called to speak life and must surround ourselves in this season with others who speak life into us. Not everyone has earned the right to speak into our lives. We were created in the image of God, who spoke this entire world into existence. Our words have the creative power to transform our environment. Speaking life is first and foremost to speak in agreement with the Word of God. This is part of how we war- intentionally speaking life instead of death. This time, this place, is where we learn to speak life, regardless of what’s going on around us. If we can’t speak life in this place, we won’t be able to get to the larger, open spaces that are waiting for us. There are giants in the Promised Land, so even after we step into what is for us, we will have to displace them. And we will do that with the words of life that we learn to speak now, in this time and in this place.
The Bible is full of life-giving words that remind us of who we are. Hearing words spoken out loud with our own ears is how we gain confidence and combat the enemy. It brings victory. Speaking life transforms our minds and our hearts. A bitter heart becomes a loving, trusting heart that’s full of gracious, uplifting words. A self-righteous heart becomes a contented heart that’s full of faith-filled words. That heart becomes humble, filled with words of acceptance, reconciliation or restoration. It becomes a joy-filled heart, full of words of gratitude and thankfulness.
We are the righteousness of Christ in Jesus. We are daughters of the King- a royal priesthood. We will live and not die. We will be strong and mighty in the land. We are the head and not the tail, above and not beneath. We will lend and not borrow. We will laugh at the days to come. Our children will arise and call us blessed. Let’s become women who start agreeing with the Lord’s promises!
Forgive all of us, Jesus, for speaking out of bitter, thankless, self-righteous or critical places. Lord, transform us into ones who speak life out of the abundance of our hearts- so much so, that those around us would begin speaking life in agreement with you as well! May we be the small pebble that begins a ripple effect of life-giving change across our neighborhoods, our cities, and our nations. Holy Spirit, we need you. We cannot do this well or consistently without You. Do not let us be led by our emotions, or the circumstances around us, but by You and You alone. May we be women who speak validation, gratitude, honor, and encouragement. We ask you to do for this world what only you can do- take us from death to life in the mighty name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
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