Weighty Words

I have taken the quiz multiple times and out of all the love languages you could have my score for "words of encouragement" far exceeds them all. I am a writer, a poet, an artist, it is just in me, it is in my blood and I have accepted this proudly as if I wear a badge that says, "say something nice and we are friends forever".  I love amplified Bibles because there are extra words, I love looking up definitions of words and the synonyms and the Greek and Hebrew! Just give me all the words!! They are my favorite gift to give and my favorite to receive. But lately...I have realized in some hard ways that not all words can have the same weight.  

Her text was so nice! It was so unexpected, just a pleasant surprise. I had tucked my phone away like I do every Saturday, because Saturday are my family's sacred space. With Griffin working all Sunday, Saturday is our coveted family day, our Sabbath, so leaving the phone behind is vital. We went to the zoo all morning and had such a great time. It was a perfect Florida day, 70 and sunny. We got back in the car and I checked my phone and opened it up to the sweetest text. It was a sweet compliment from someone that I hadn't yet had the pleasure to really connect with. She had gotten my number from someone else and had gone out of her way to send me this text. I thought of all the effort and read each word slowly and carefully. I put my phone down and smiled and let it sink in. "Wow, that means so much that she thinks this of me." I thought to myself. I picked up the phone and read it again. (Like I said, words fill up my heart) Maybe you feel the same, maybe words from others are like honey to your heart. But have you ever then run into the person within the next day or two and their actions towards you don't mirror what they texted you? When you are left feeling really confused if they meant it? Any of it? What do you do when someone says something to you and it makes you question yourself? When you walk away from your conversation replaying what they said because you wonder, "Was that a compliment or a jab?" When you can't decipher whether what someone said was sarcastic or real. Oh words...how they can be such a weapon. The real truth about words is that they reveal much more about the person who said them than who they are saying the words to. 

Proverbs 1 8:21, 

"The tongue has the power of life and death."

The Bible speaks a lot about the power of words. As if He knew we would need to listen quickly and speak slowly, that the temptation to just say what we feel without regard would be a slippery slope. Words show and reveal the character of the heart, they expose true hurts and brokenness, words can have the power to break a heart. Words are eternal aren't they? Right now, you can think of something that your mother spoke over you when you were young. Whether it was good or bad, you can remember word for word and you remember the emotion that was triggered and quite possibly the string of actions that were made because of the words. 

I am here to share what I am learning about words. And the truth is, that words must be spoken and received with the most thoughtful mind. Compliments can carry a person through a hard season, correction can save them from a wrong turn, but all and any word must be spoken with love and out of love.

​The Lord has so gently nudged me that He does not want other peoples words to carry the some weight and profoundness of His words over me. The reality is that He is longing to speak to us over all the voices straining for our attention. And when you hear His voice over any other voices, even your own, His voice begin to mold and make you. His words begin to prune and prepare you for your future. His words fill you to overflow and His words, turn into your worth which changes your life. 

Three Truths About the Power of Our Words

1. The Father's words must carry the most weight - If you are like me and you love words of encouragement, we have to learn that the words that should sink deep down into our souls the most are the Fathers'. The One who made you is the One who sustains you. Allow His words to penetrate the deepest part of who you are. They will form you from the inside out. 
2. "I don't receive that" - This is something I want to give you. A tool, so to say. You have the freedom to say this. When someone speaks something over your life, over your marriage, your future, you have the freedom to say out loud, "I do not receive that." It's a way to say, "What you said has no bearing on me, my family, my heart. I disagree, I don't want that truth." For example, I had someone say to me, "Just wait till all your girls are grown up, they will make you miserable." Yea...I do not receive that.  Many times people speak out of their own experiences and not in a way to really help you or encourage you. You do not have to take and hold onto other's words. 
3. Speak in Love - If death and life are in the power of the tongue then as believers we have the most important role to play when it comes to the words we say, the songs we sing, the phrases we speak. The way we talk about our children, our spouse, ourselves in the mirror. It must be done in love, and if it's not then I believe that's your red flag to go deeper there. Ask yourself if there is something deeper that's bothering you. "Out of the mouth the heart speaks...." If your words aren't in love, then what is in your heart? 

Take some time to reflect on the words that have impacted you the most negatively and positively, work through them. Write them down and be grateful for the good and ask the Lord to set you free from the bad. Continue practicing hearing the Father's voice, I pray it is the loudest in your mind of all. 

Much Love, 
​     Heather