Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity. ~Proverbs 21:23 (NIV)
The word calamity means great misfortune; it refers to something that causes misery and distress like an earthquake or any event that produces extensive evils. None of us want calamity to come upon us or to those that we love, and the Lord teaches us in His word that one of the ways we can avoid it and it has to do with our words. If not actively guarding what we say brings calamity, we must acknowledge that at least some of the calamity we experience in life is brought on by ourselves. That means we could have avoided some of the misfortunes we have seen because we all have the ability to utilize God’s wisdom and take a proactive approach toward our circumstances by zipping our lips. It sounds simple enough, but it can be very difficult because what we say comes from our heart and if our heart isn’t right then our words won’t be either. The Lord says it’s the meek that inherit the earth. That’s everything God has for us including a great future. A meek person is a humble person. Someone with a humble heart is submissive to God’s divine will. They are able to patiently wait on God as Jesus did. A meek person is not fretful or anxious and they are not apt to complain. Meek people are not weak, as some would perceive, they are smart, and they know their words hold power, the power to create, just as Gods words formed the earth and everything in it. That is why we are told to pay attention and guard what comes out of our mouths!
It has been said there are three different kinds of people in the world; those who think before they talk, those who think while they talk and those who think after they talk. Proverbs 18:21 tells us “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (NIV) We are all eating the fruit of what we said in days past. Are you enjoying abundant life or are you despairing over your circumstances? It is vitally important that we learn to think before we speak. To formulate our words with expectant faith acknowledging that they are going to produce what we see in the future. Negative words filled with anger, disappointment and complaints will produce circumstances that ensure more of the same. But words filled with joy, thankfulness and praise will produce circumstances that ensure more of the same as well. What are your conversations filled with? To guard our tongues will make us better listeners also. God tells us in Proverbs 18:13 “To answer before listening—that is folly and shame.” (NIV) Have you ever finished someone’s sentence? It seems like the closer we are to a person, the more apt we are to finish their sentences and stories. The Lord says that it not only wrong but shameful to answer before listening. We are told in James 3:8 “no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of deadly poison.” (NIV) We cannot discipline our mouth without God’s help. The good news is that if you have an undisciplined mouth God wants to help you. He wants to show you how to make your tomorrows better than today! The Lord never asks us to do something He is not willing to help us with. Learn to work with God in consecrating your mouth to speak positive words filled with life, when it's your turn! Jesus said in Matthew 12:34 “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (NKJV) When we give our answers “from the bottom of our heart” instead of “off the top of our head” we have a lot less regret about what we say.
The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint. ~Proverbs 17:27 (NIV)
Are you enjoying abundant life or are you despairing over your circumstances?
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