You Are More Powerful Than You Think

Proverbs 18:21 says "The tongue has the power of life or death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Do you know that what comes out of your mouth will determine your future? Do you know that where you are today, whether you like it or not, is because of your words? Your tongue controls the direction of your life! Even Jesus's life was a result of words spoken by the prophets! You have remarkable power, given by God! We are created in His very image, and just like God, your spoken words carry great weight. It is a power so great that it is capable of producing life or death depending on how it's used. The Bible tells us that our words are so powerful that they can bless or curse, encourage or discourage, hurt or heal, tear down or build up. Our words can even influence the way we act and feel as well as determine our attitude and outlook on life. Jesus said in Luke 21:33:"Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away." God's Word and the words we speak "will not return empty" (Isaiah 55:11). 

James 3:8-9 states "but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue, we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness." We cannot tame our tongues. However, we have been given the very nature of Christ, and through His nature and His power, we can carefully choose our words to produce good fruit, not only in our own lives, but in the lives of others.
A testimony came to us today of a gentleman who acknowledged that each time he drove past a topless bar, he would curse it out loud with his words. He chose to start blessing those who frequent it and those who staff it. His blessings were to bring to those "a desire for true love, righteousness, and purity". Within two weeks, management decided to close the business and get into something more honorable. 

It is a sign in our hearts that we have truly forgiven those who have cursed, offended, and hated us when we can, with spoken words, bless them with what they truly need from the Lord! 

There are two biblical examples of the power of spoken words. Mark 11:13-14, 20 shows how Jesus's words brought death and destruction. "Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it. In the morning, as they went along, the saw the fig tree withered from the roots." Jesus's words were for death, and the tree died as a result. Jesus also demonstrated that the spoken word can bring life in John 11:43-44. "When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out!' And the dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped in strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, 'Take off his grave clothes, and let him go.'"

"Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones" (Proverbs 16:24) We have been entrusted a great responsibility to choose our words carefully. It is a great privilege to choose positive words in a gloom and doom society.