The Spoken Word
2 Samuel 23:2
The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongue. There are so many ways we can record our words these days. Constructively, we can share our internal thoughts between the pages of a journal. All too often, we recklessly take to Facebook, Twitter, or whatever social media channel we prefer and document our words for the world to see.
Think about this... the world was brought into existence simply by a spoken word. God miraculously and perfectly created our world with His words. Jesus restored Lazarus' life by speaking to him. And all throughout Scripture He promises us that the same power in Him lives inside of us. That means that the mighty power of the spoken word is within us - for better or for worse, admittedly.
It's far easier to speak with abandon than it is to wisely use restraint over our tongues, but that's just what the Lord wants for us - to weigh each word before we speak it. Our words have the crushing power to heal or destroy, to build or breakdown. There is as much power in what we speak as there is in what we don't say. Just think about the political environment these days. All around us are messages intent to teardown and destroy, and opinions are shared carelessly and thoughtlessly.
I want to be a life speaker. I want my words to uplift, heal, steward and build. It's all too common to watch the damage caused by misdirected words, and I want to choose the harder path... the path of intention. I want my words to be a soothing balm to those around me, not a grenade to duck and dodge.
The Christian music artist TobyMac has a song I love called "Speak Life." As we head into the weekend, I challenge and encourage you to take inventory of the words you utter. Are they fostering life or squelching it?
"Speak Life"
Some days life feels perfect
Other days, it just ain't workin'
The good, the bad, the right, the wrong
And everything in between
Yo it's crazy, amazing
We can turn our heart through the words we say
Mountains crumble with every syllable
Hope can live or die
So speak life, speak life
To the deadest darkest night
Speak life, speak life
When the sun won't shine and you don't know why
Look into the eyes of the broken hearted
Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope
You speak love, you speak
You speak life, oh oh oh oh oh
You speak life, oh oh oh oh oh
Some days the tongue gets twisted
Other day my thoughts just fall apart
I do, I don't, I will, I won't
It's like I'm drowning in the deep
Well, it's crazy to imagine
Words from my lips as the arms of compassion
Mountains crumble with every syllable
Hope can live or die
So speak life, speak life
To the deadest darkest night
Speak life, speak life
When the sun won't shine and you don't know why
Look into the eyes of the broken hearted
Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope
You speak love, you speak
You speak life, oh oh oh oh oh
You speak life, oh oh oh oh oh
Lift your head a little higher
Spread the love like fire
Hope will fall like rain
When you speak life with the words you say
Raise your thoughts a little higher
Use your words to inspire
Joy will fall like rain when you speak life with the things you say
Lift your head a little higher
Spread the love like fire
Hope will fall like rain
When you speak life with the words you say
So speak life, speak life
To the deadest darkest night
Speak life, speak life
When the sun won't shine and you don't know why
Look into the eyes of the broken hearted
Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope
You speak love, you speak
You speak life, oh oh oh oh oh
You speak life, oh oh oh oh oh
You speak life, oh oh oh oh oh
You speak life, oh oh oh oh oh
Some days life feels perfect