Every day you and I give people an impression of who Jesus is by the words we use.  Are they hearing, or reading, words from you which would draw them to Christ or push them away?  Are you using words which draw you into greater relationship with God or words which create distance?  Over the next 9 days I will be sharing from the devotional journal, “Watch Your Mouth”, with the prayer that it helps you discover some of what God has to say about choosing words which honor Him.

Here is day twenty-three with an important reminder that watching your mouth should lead you to words which have been strengthened by God.

Choose Strengthened Words

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 (NIV)

How have the words of others helped you to overcome, or persevere, in times when you were weak?  What about their words gave you strength?  Do you think the people around you would say they are strengthened or weakened by your words?  Or some of both?  How does God’s grace in your life add strength to your words?  Do you find grace-filled words to be more strengthening than legalistic words?  Which do you find yourself using more than the other?

There are days when I seem to hit bottom and a weakness in my mind seems to trigger a switch, turning on an anxiety-fueled panic attack.  In the midst of these attacks, I turn to God’s Word and songs about God’s character to strengthen me in my weakness.  Each time, these words are about God’s grace, love, mercy, compassion, patience, understanding, and a variety of other things that communicate He understands and I’m still His.  As you pray, ask God to strengthen you by His Word.  Pray that the words you speak to others would strengthen them when they are weak.

In prayer,

Tom