Consider these words from Proverbs that speak to our next Landmark of Faith, the mouth.
“The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life…” – Proverbs 10:11
“The lips of the righteous nourish many…” – Proverbs 10:21
The tongue has the power of life and death…” – Proverbs 18:21
The mouth has great potential to give life, but it also has great potential to destroy and tear down. There’s a great song by the artist, Toby Mac entitled “Speak Life”. Look at this powerful verse and chorus,
We can turn our heart through the words we say
Mountains crumble with every syllable
Hope can live or die
To the deadest darkest night
Speak life, speak life
When the sun won’t shine and you don’t know why
Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted
Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope
You speak love, you speak
It feels like daily that I say things I regret, things that are selfish, unloving, and sometimes just plain rude. I don’t think I’m alone. It’s a battle that faith must fight.
Words are powerful and how we control our tongue can say a lot about our dependence on God and also our belief in His ability to work in us. Taming the tongue as James (ch. 3) speaks of, requires a courageous faith because we must believe a few things about how God works through our words to bring life and hope.
- With faith in God, we speak truth to honor God, not ourselves.
- This is our belief that God is truth and His truth is best for life.
- With faith in God, we can build others up.
- This is our belief that the Holy Spirit can speak encouragement through us to others.
- With faith in God, we can give hope.
- This is our belief that when we share the gospel, the power of God works in us and through us to point people to the hope of Jesus.
A mouth devoted to encouraging is a commitment to and practice of speaking to others with the goal of building them up into their identity as a child of God.
Let’s be God’s messengers that bring encouragement and hope wherever we go. Even when things are tough, let the words of encouragement, hope, and life be heard from our mouths.
Sharing Life, Sharing Christ, Together
Pastor Dan
