I think, at times, we don’t understand the power of our words.
I want to briefly share a story with you that I think will demonstrate just how powerful our words can be.
It was February 15th, 2008. My husband and I were youth pastors as the time and I was getting ready to take a group of about 45 girls to the Revolve Tour (a conference for teenage girls, for those who don’t know). I’d been there before a few times and it was always a great experience for everyone.
As I was getting ready for the day, I got a phone call letting me know that my dad had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. If there was anything that could take the breath out of me, it was that. It was shocking and surreal. None of us were expecting it. He was everything to me, so this news was absolutely devastating.
But I couldn’t just go lay in my bed and cry my eyes out. I needed to be strong and I needed to show up for the teenage girls that I was leading, so I went to church and got through it the best I could.
Once we got into the auditorium, Natalie Grant went up to speak. She’s one of my favorite worship artists, but I had never heard her speak before. In my mind, I thought she seemed a bit out of place, but God….He had other plans.
Her message was powerful! It was all about Abba Father and, how in the absence of having a natural father, God will step in and be that for you in that loss. I remember sitting there and thinking “this is exactly what I needed to hear”.
Not that I didn’t have faith that my dad could be healed, but in that moment, I just knew that I needed those words to sustain my life for the future. Her words were so powerful that, 12 years later, I still pray on them and meditate on them.
I want to ask you a question: What are YOUR words doing for other people?
Are they speaking life or are they speaking death? Are they building up or are they tearing down? What are the things that are coming out of your mouth doing for other people?
They say that social media is a highlight reel of everybody’s life. We look and compare our lives to mere highlight reels from everyone else’s, meanwhile, we don’t see the pain and the hurt that they go through.
As you see everyone’s highlight reels, how do you respond? What are you thinking? What are you saying? Are you encouraging? Are you reaching out to people and being loving? Sometimes the people with the prettiest highlight reels are the ones that need our love and encouragement the most.
You know, when that moment hit in 2008, I learned that I needed to find my own faith. I couldn’t simply rely on my parent’s faith anymore. I had to declare over myself that, despite my circumstances, I would still serve, teach, and reach out to people. I would still love others, despite it being very easy to wallow in my pain.
And that’s the truth. It’s very easy to pull away from others and seclude ourselves, especially in times of pain and trial. What kept me going was speaking life to myself, time and time again.
Are you speaking life to yourself today?
It was in those moments, of speaking life to myself, that I would feel the presence of the Lord so strongly. I could finally hear that still small voice and it would bring me PEACE.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” – John 14:27 (emphasis mine).
We have access to the SAME peace Jesus walked in! The SAME peace He hung on the cross in. The SAME peace that Jesus cried out to the Father in.
All we have to do is ask God for it.
Find someone to speak life into today. And if you are in need of a peace, reach out to somebody and ask for help. We’re all here for each other.
Your words have power. Use them to SPEAK LIFE.
Blessings,
Teri