“The Next Spiritual Journey” Day 8: Don’t allow your tongue to dig a hole for you to fall into.

“For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.”

‭‭James‬ ‭3‬:‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

An examination of the creation story will reveal that the Lord spoke everything into being with the words of His mouth. In fact, we are told that “God said,” or some variation of the same, 10 times concerning the creation.

Indeed, the word of God has the power, the creative power, to bring something to be, something to exist, out of nothing.

Now, whereas we may not see things being created out of thin air by the words of our own mouth, the truth is, our own words have much to do with creating the world in which we will live. Yes, our words, when they line up with what God has said, can build the blessed life He has promised. But make no mistake, rash words, spoken from an uncontrolled tongue, often tear down, often destroy, the blessings God has offered.

The writer of proverbs warns that we will have to live with the consequences of our words, for better, or worse.

“Wise words satisfy like a good meal; the right words bring satisfaction. The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Knowing the importance of our words, the psalmist sought the Lord to help him make sure that his words weren’t undoing the word of God in his life.

“Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭141‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

In another place, David offers this:

“I said, “I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, While the wicked are before me.” I was mute with silence, I held my peace even from good; And my sorrow was stirred up. My heart was hot within me; While I was musing, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue: “Lord, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭39‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

David knew—as we all should know—if you are in a bad situation, in the midst of provocation, you definitely don’t want to make things worse by digging the hole you’re in, deeper, with your own tongue. Indeed, our words can form a snare in which we may well find ourselves trapped.

Peter warns, saying this:

“For “He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.”

‭‭I Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

In our opening scripture, we see that James explains the potentially destructive power of the tongue. Note, James presents the scenario of blessing and cursing, evil and good, coming out of the same mouth. Friend, you can’t get a faster track to deeper trouble than doing the devil‘s work with your mouth. As such, we are allowing the power of God’s word to be negated in our life with the words of our enemy!

Child of God, we should always seek out what the Lord has said, making sure that our words aren’t negating His words. We must be particularly careful with what we are saying when we find ourselves in a tight spot, in the midst of trouble, in a place of confusion. We definitely don’t want to make things worse with our own tongue.

Remember, we can’t go wrong speaking what God has said, even when it doesn’t seem—at that point in time—that our circumstances are lining up with what He had said.

In fact, what God has said, His word, has the power to bring us through our personal storms; whereas, speaking out of emotion, speaking impulsively, speaking thoughtlessly, speaking contrary to what God has said, will only lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy of more trouble.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!