May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19: 14
Some “food for thought” for us today! What is the nicest thing anyone has said to you recently? What is the most hurtful thing someone has said? Now let’s turn it around and think about the most and least kind thing we have said to someone! Hhmm! Makes us think, doesn’t it?
If only we could remember the power that our words can have – to bring joy, comfort, peace, assurance, praise, and to show love and appreciation – but also how they can bring such heartache and pain.
The psalmist, David, understood their power and he asked God in this beautiful verse to help us measure our words before we speak. His desire was that every single word he said and every thought he had would be pleasing to Him.
What a humbling thought to know that we can please God and show Him our love and devotion with such a simple act as having good thoughts and using our words graciously. But it is not always that simple. Many of us struggle with doing so.
Jesus warns us in Scripture that our hearts will be held accountable for whatever words we speak and what thoughts we have before we speak. Our words can have the potential to create so many problems and cause pain to others, and even to ourselves. We may think we can hide the motives behind them, and sometimes we may not even recognize the “darkness” we hold in our own hearts. But, we especially think we can hide it all from God.
But our God sees and He knows. We need to recognize that the words and the “truth” behind those words first reside in our hearts as our intent and our deepest thoughts. Every word that is unproductive, unfruitful, and unkind comes from the heart. Every sarcastic comment, every personal attack against others, every discriminating joke, every unfounded criticism, and every profanity lies somewhere deep within.
Our words can be so powerful because some situation or someone can give them power that perhaps we never even intended for them to have. But if someone perceives them as hurtful, the damage is done. Perception is reality. Our words have an impact whether we realize it or not. We need His Spirit to help us control these unpleasant thoughts and words. We need His strength and His love to soften our hearts and temper our words. May they be not only acceptable to Him, but always kind and beneficial to others.
Amazingly, the word “heart” is found in Scripture over 900 times and it can refer to the mind, the emotions, the will, or our inner selves. It can even refer to a person as a whole. What we do is a product of the heart and what we say is evidence of what lies within. The measure of our thoughts and our words will show the true indication of God’s grace and righteousness in us.
May we always remember to make “the words and the meditation of our hearts” pleasing to Him. May He find joy in all we say and do, and may others see Him in us.
Prayer
Dear God, you know us better than we know ourselves. Help us to look within our hearts and see what might lie hidden underneath our own inner inspection. Help us to push aside those thoughts we know would be displeasing to you and may our words always be filled with your love and grace. Amen
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