Words

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

It is said of the prophet Samuel that none of his words fell to the ground. He was recognized as a true prophet in Israel. He was careful to say only the things that the Lord told him to say. Consequently when he spoke a promise, a warning or a judgement on the Lord's behalf those things came to pass. (1 Samuel 3:18-20)

Words are powerful things they can cut us to shreds like a knife or they can build us up and be the winds in our sails that fill us with the confidence to carry on.

Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, 

O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

What exactly is it about our words 

that would make them pleasing to the Lord? 

Here are some characteristics of Godly speech

It should give glory, praise and thanks to God

1 Peter 2:9
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

1 Thessalonians 5:18
give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

It should come from a foundation of Christ as Lord in your life. 

Romans 10:9-10
9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Our speech as it relates to others should be gentle and gracious.  

Colossians 4:6
6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Proverbs 16:24
24 Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

Words are powerful and we need to dispense them carefully

Ecclesiastes 10:12
12 Words from a wise man’s mouth are gracious,
but a fool is consumed by his own lips. 

Do you ever wonder if the trouble that surrounds you is sometimes because you have been running at the mouth. You say something and it stirs up a lot of emotions in the people around you and before you know it your have a big mess and you are scratching your head to know how to fix it. You've managed to offend someone, or you've lied and its come back to bite you once the truth was revealed. 

Proverbs 18:21
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

As a believer your words should be kind. 

Proverbs 12:25
25 An anxious heart weighs a man down,

but a kind word cheers him up.

I had plenty of opportunities to feel anxious this week because my son Cai had surgery to fix the 3 breaks in his colar bone from riding his bike down and icy hill and crashing last Sunday. There were many people who used their words to encourage us and to pray for us. 

I was grateful to feel the love of the body of Christ in action this week. Another verse Romans 2:4 comes to mind regarding kindness it reminds us not to forget that it is His kindness that leads us to repentance.  

Psalm 31:19 How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you.

Our words should instruct and build others up rather than tear them down. Our words should be used carefully with restraint and wisdom.

Colossians 3:16
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Proverbs 17:27
27 A man of knowledge uses words with restraint,
and a man of understanding is even-tempered.

I have not even scratched the surface on the verses that relate to what makes our words pleasing to the Lord. Its pretty obvious that our words should be honest, truthful and wise. 

In Acts 6 is says "Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people." It seems there was some opposition arose between differing groups of believers.  These men began to argue with Stephen,  verse 10 says "but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke."

Finally our words should be used to bless others. You may have noticed that many of the New Testament writers will often pray prayers of blessing over the people they have written to. 

So I want to leave you today with a blessing strait out of your bible. This blessing is found in Hebrews 13 verses 20-21

²⁰ God gives peace, and he raised our Lord Jesus Christ from death. Now Jesus is like a Great Shepherd whose blood was used to make God’s eternal agreement with his flock. ²¹ I pray that God will make you ready to obey him and that you will always be eager to do right. May Jesus help you do what pleases God. To Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever! Amen.