BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ARE SAYING!
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ARE SAYING!
There was an elderly couple who had been waiting on the LORD for the fruit of the womb to no avail. And it seemed they had given up.
Then suddenly and unexpectedly (because of their age) the woman conceived. The husband did not believe it and he kept doubting and asking in disbelief if it was really true.
He was suddenly struck dumb and the elderly man did not speak another word until his wife was delivered of a baby boy and it was time to give him a name.
This is the story of the priest Zechariah and his wife Elisabeth, the parents of John the Baptist. “But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.” Luke 1:20 NLT
The angel Gabriel had appeared to Zechariah and told him the good news that his prayers had been answered and that he would soon become a father. But rather than jump for joy, he began to question the angel, spewing doubt and unbelief all over the place. My thought is that the angel suspected that Zechariah might eventually use his words to undo the miracle and the blessing of God. So he was kept mute.
The bible says this: “Words can bring death or life! Talk too much, and you will eat everything you say.” Proverbs 18:22 Contemporary English Version
We do not have to wait for an angel to come and mute us today. We must be careful about the negative words that sometimes come so readily to our lips. Some negative expressions have actually been sneaked into our languages and we sometimes just speak them loosely.
“I am dying to move into my new house!” for example could easily be rephrased as “I am excited to” ; or “I am looking forward to”. But dying to is definitely not the best way.
“I can’t wait to do something” is another sneaky expression which will slowly make impatience creep up on us.
We must choose our words carefully.
We should fill our words with what we want to see in our lives rather than going on about the unpleasantness around us. And when we do so what we are really doing is acting and speaking exactly the way God speaks. God said “Let there be light” He did not say “Ooh it’s so dark.” This is what happened at creation. “The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” Genesis 1:2-3 NLT There was darkness all over but God did not pay any attention to the darkness. God called forth what He wanted to see. And light was created
For those of us already in or getting close to our sixties, I plead, let us refrain from saying we are getting old in a negative way. And generally be expectant of all manner of ailments to befall us. That is not the right attitude for a believer. Say for instance we wake in the morning with a little ache in one of our ankles, we should not condemn it to old age. Old age is not a sentence. It can be beautiful if we allow it to be. We are not in denial that we are getting along in years but the Word of God says “Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalms 103:5 KJV I choose to interprete the above scripture to mean that it is what we do with our mouths that will affect our youthfulness. Whether it is choosing to eat healthy or to sing and speak joyful words. If we keep eating junk or saying ugly things about ourselves or about others, our youth will not be renewed.
Our words are so powerful. We can literally do and undo with our words. Words can build and words can destroy. “You will be protected from the lash of the tongue, and need not fear when destruction comes.” Job 5:21 NIV See how the bible likens hurtful and hateful words to being destructive. A lash is a whip. Imagine words being a whip when used inappropriately. It will inflict all kinds of wounds and pain.
The apostle Paul tells us how to talk. “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:6 NIV Salt makes a meal tasty. Otherwise it would just be bland. Therefore we must learn to use our words to add flavour to others and even to ourselves. Call it psyching yourself up or anything of the sort but please speak positively to you. Noone can do it better than yourself.
Dear friends, let us watch our words because they carry much weight. Not only are they so powerful as to bring life or death to people or to situations, they are like eggs. Once we speak them, we cannot put them back. “You will say the wrong thing if you talk too much–so be sensible and watch what you say.” Proverbs 10:19 Contemporary English Version
YES PLEASE! LET US BE CAREFUL WHAT WE ARE SAYING. KEEP SAYING WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE AND YOU WILL SEE IT.
OLUYINKA EGO-MARTINS ©