Use your words!

Words are powerful. Whether it's something blurted out unthinkingly in the middle of a conversation or a carefully thought-out and heavily edited line of poetry, words hold weight. We all know the 'sticks and stones' line isn't entirely accurate (more the 'words will never hurt me' part).

Words can hurt, but they can heal too: 'The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing' (Proverbs 12:18 NIV). And Proverbs 18:21 (NLT) says, 'The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences' - a warning, yes, but an encouragement too. What we say - in sermons or worship songs or while ordering a coffee - can help people immeasurably, sometimes without even knowing it. When God gives us power like that, it's not helping anybody to hold back from speaking out because of fear; this can be as harmful as being reckless with speaking out.

Knowing that we hold great power with what we say can be daunting, but all we have to do is ask God to guide us to the right things to say. Not every conversation we have will change somebody's life, granted, but we never know which one might.



So what now? Choose to use your words well. First, pray over the conversations you'll have today: ask God to bring the right people across your path. Then just talk to those people. It may be a 'you look nice' to someone, or asking about someone's life, or a life-changing conversation with someone who's struggling.





— SCRIPTURE —

'The right words bring satisfaction.' Proverbs 18:20 NLT
— SOULFOOD —

Lev 8-10, Luke 1:39-56, Ps 42:1-5, Pro 1:20-23