One day last week I listened as my friend told me about a diagnosis from the doctor. I could hear the faint sound of hopelessness in her voice, the day before she had been chipper and strong. Nothing drastic had changed in her body, the only thing that had changed were the words she heard.
I listened to her for a couple days about the diagnosis, she talked about it with sadness, every now and then she would say God was bigger or she was trusting God but I could hear something in her voice, sadness and hopelessness. I hated hearing that from her, I hurt for her.
As we were talking, I said ‘wow, the power of words.’ She said ‘what do you mean?’ I said the words you heard and they were only words, changed everything for you.
The Bible says in Proverbs 18:21; Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Over the years I have heard people receive words from the doctors and begin to let go of life the moment they hear them. Then I have heard people hear the same words and grab life with a vengeance. The power of words is incredible. How we react to them makes all the difference.
It reminds me of that little song I sang as a child ‘be careful little ears what you hear.’ We use words to pray and stand in faith and that is rightly so. We also need to be aware of the words we hear around us and toward us; we need to make sure that if they are not words of faith that we replace them with our words of faith.
We need to make sure that we only receive life filled words. Oh, I know, we are going to hear negative words at times, but the key is what we do with them. The key is how we allow them to affect us. The key is how we react to them. Don’t let fear, hopelessness or anger be your first response.
Today I was reading a story about a woman who had a 3 month old daughter who was born with a brain disease, she had two surgeries by the time she was 3 months. The mother was beyond stressed out. She had two other girls and she was constantly concerned about how this would affect their lives and how she could help her children survive this little girl’s illness and how it would negatively affect them. Then one day words changed her perspective.
One day a different doctor came to see her little girl and once he had examined her, he said this to the parents; this child will change your life. She will change her siblings’ lives. They will grow up to be special people because they will learn early on that they are not the center of the universe. I see incredible siblings develop alongside children like her. She is a gift.
This mother’s perspective completely changed from being concerned of how it would affect here other girls to seeing that it would actually shape them into the very best versions of themselves. It was only words, nothing in the physical changed, but the words she received changed everything.
Words are powerful. I once heard a study from Billy Brim’s son talking about how words are actually things. Words become things. That’s why we have to be so careful of the words we hear and digest. Because they become something.
Today watch the words that you receive. Make sure they are from God. Make sure they line up with the word, if they don’t, replace them with what God says. God’s word is always encouraging, loving, kind, forgiving and FILLED with hope.
Let’s end todays motivation with the word from Philippians 4:8; Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
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