“Your words are what sustain me . . they are my heart’s delight.” Jeremiah 15:16 NLT
“The Bible wisely advises you to value the economy of words.”
My thoughts today are about “words.”
Words shape understandings; words communicate thoughts, ideas, and actions to one another, facilitating relationships and coordinating efforts. Words have inherent power. Words are the expression of both mind and heart. With words you communicate with God Almighty and converse with children and men. Use words well and speak them wisely. Words possess enduring power to linger in people’s lives long after they are spoken. My friends comment on how often I repeat the words of my Dad or friends whose practical wisdom still influence my life. Words you speak and hear shape the person you are becoming, for better or worse.
Words make cowards of the bravest or can inspire ordinary people to lofty achievements. Who will forget Abraham Lincoln’s words at the Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, battlefield, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here,” or Sir Winston Churchill’s words to a battered, British nation, “Never in the field of conflict was so much owed by so many to so few,” or General Douglas MacArthur’s WWII unbroken promise to the Philippines, “I shall return,” or the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Words mean something and deeply resonate in the psyche and souls of men.
With words, a person communicates with others, confesses errors, comforts the sorrowing, counsels the puzzled, chastens the wayward, and commits themselves to greater purpose. “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” Proverbs 25:11 NIV. Noting the inherent power of words, the Bible wisely advises you to value the economy of words, “Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God . . therefore let your words be few.” Ecclesiastes 5:2 NKJV. Foolish and less than accurate words discount every other word that you speak. If people cannot believe all that you say, how will they know to believe anything that you say? Speak the truth in love to all others at all times. See Ephesians 4:15-16/29 NKJV.
But now, let’s consider the importance and power of God’s word. Read Isaiah 55:10-11 NIV. It is interesting that God created all that we see and enjoy with just His spoken word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command.” John 1:1 NKJV/Hebrews 11:3 NIV.
In the worst of his trouble, Job said, “I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” Job 23:12 KJV. In such life-shaping times you do not need your own or others’ opinions, you need a word from the Lord – wisdom that restores your faith and directs you forward. Would your life and faith be better and stronger if you spent more time honoring God’s Word and living according to its truth? Then why do people find so little time and give secondary priority to reading, studying, and knowing the Word of God everyday? The prophet Jeremiah placed the highest value on God’s words. “Your words are what sustain me. They bring me great joy and are my heart’s delight.” Jeremiah 15:16 NLT. The Word of God is not all it should be in your life until it is your “great joy and heart’s delight!”
My prayer for you today is that you build your life on every word God speaks.