Speak Life or Death
Once we understand the importance of Avoiding the Danger of Underestimating God and taking our thoughts captive by making them obedient to God’s Word, we have to go one step further and recognize the connection between our thoughts, emotions, attitudes and the words we speak and then how they LITERALLY effect and determine the circumstances and direction of our lives…either for life or death.
Proverbs 23:7 reveals that as we think, so are we, and then Luke 6:45 tells us that The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. So there’s an obvious connection between our thoughts, what is in our hearts and the words we speak, which the following verses indicate as well:
Psalm 13:2 – How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Jeremiah 4:14 –
And Hebrews 3:1 confirms that as Christian men and women answering the call on our lives to stand for the restoration of our marriages and families, we have to keep our thoughts FIXED ON JESUS and the power and promise of His Word; it says Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. And since the only way to “confess is with our mouths, our SPOKEN (and written) words must glorify and magnify Jesus Christ and the faith and confidence we have in Him, and NOT validate and give voice to doubt and despair, which only magnifies and glorifies the work of the devil.
It’s not possible to read James 3:3-5 and honestly question whether or not our tongues have the power to effect and direct our circumstances and the course of our lives, because it says When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. So we have to take James’ warning very seriously, as well as Proverbs 18:21 (AMP), which declares that Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]. It just doesn’t get much clearer than that; yet this seems to be difficult for most of us to fully comprehend and even more importantly, to put into practice.
As I was working on this earlier today, one of the FAM members posted the following excerpt on the private website, which really seems to illustrate the point I want to make:
“I would also like to thank and Praise God for a change He brought about in me. Throughout the day yesterday, I was a bit anxious about the upcoming evening and questioned if I would be able to do it. I was trying to take my thoughts captive and claiming the word, but I was still struggling. And I wasn’t sure why. My heart was anxious and it was weighing me down! Then I got an encouraging call from someone reminding me of something I use to say when I faced similar circumstances earlier. It was a very encouraging word and just what I needed to cheer me up (Proverbs 12:25). And as I cheered up, I reread one of the verses I was claiming, Philippians 4:6, which says Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
However, I wasn’t doing the “thanksgiving” part! I was casting all my anxieties to God in prayer and petition, but I was not giving Him thanks and praising His name. So I took those thoughts captive and shifted to speaking out more praises. I immediately began giving God NOTHING but thanksgiving and praises for the work He has done in me and the wonderful evening He was bringing for our family in just a few hours. I began to claim verses that speak of the power and joy I have in God. And then, the very next verse, Philippians 4:7, was exactly what I had; And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. And that peace DID guard my heart and mind the entire night!”
What a perfect and timely illustration of how changing our thoughts and the words we speak by making them line up with the written Word of God can and will turn our situations around instantly! This is someone who has been going through a very challenging situation for the past few weeks, and since I’ve been in daily contact with her, I can certainly testify that making that single change in her own mindset and attitude TOTALLY transformed her persona and attitude from that of a victim to a victor; and just guess which is more appealing and attractive to her husband! But even more importantly, it already has and will continue to release the supernatural power of God Almighty to work on her behalf! Praise the Lord!!!
Since I’ve always questioned the validity of the idea that the devil doesn’t hear our thoughts, after reading Ecclesiastes 10:20 while doing a topical Bible study for this post this morning, I really question that, because it says Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say. So it appears that we can’t use the excuse that what we think isn’t as important as what we say because Satan doesn’t hear or know our thoughts. But more importantly, there’s no doubt that our thoughts are the substance of our emotions, attitudes and mindsets, and when we redirect our thoughts, our emotions, attitudes and mindsets change as well. So the ONLY way to experience victory in Christ and the righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit Jesus makes possible in this present life (Romans 14:17-18), is to make sure that our thoughts and the words we speak (and write) line up with the written Word of God. We can always rely on God’s Word to show us the way and direct our paths, because as Psalm 119:105 declares, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. And there’s no doubt that speaking the Word of God releases supernatural power to effect and manifest GOD’S WILL in our lives, because Psalm 103:20 says Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
So I hope and pray that we will all avoid speaking death into our lives, circumstances and marriages by learning to speak and write words that bring life, restoration and blessings; which we do when we wisely choose to speak only words that affirm and line up with the power and promise of God’s Word. And then we will truly be blessed and encouraged beyond belief!
It should come as no surprise, even though it always does, that God orchestrated the rebroadcast of the following messages from Joyce Meyer to perfectly coincide with what He has put on my heart to share for the past few days (most of yesterday’s SOF post was written the day before). So this is obviously a very important message for all of us to get and put into practice as we learn that every word we speak is for life or death. So let’s get the message and learn to speak only life, especially since we will eat and live what we speak!
I am a blessed lady standing on the power and promises of God!