Knowing when to speak and when to keep silent is a hard thing to determine sometimes. Listening to the Holy Spirit will keep you on the right track. Just like Jacob from yesterday’s devotion who was tricked by Laban for 20 years, we will have folks who will use words and actions to come against us.
We must be careful to honor the Lord in whatever we say and do. Our words must be directed in love and not in retaliation. The book of James deals a lot with the tongue and how destructive it can be.
“We all make many mistakes. A person who never said anything wrong would be perfect. Someone like that would be able to control their whole body too. 3 We put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us. With these bits we can control their whole body. 4 It is the same with ships. A ship is very big, and it is pushed by strong winds. But a very small rudder controls that big ship. And the one who controls the rudder decides where the ship will go. It goes where he wants it to go. 5 It is the same with our tongue. It is a small part of the body, but it can boast about doing great things.
A big forest fire can be started with only a little flame. 6 The tongue is like a fire. It is a world of evil among the parts of our body. It spreads its evil through our whole body and starts a fire that influences all of life. It gets this fire from hell.
7 Humans have control over every kind of wild animal, bird, reptile, and fish, and they have controlled all these things. 8 But no one can control the tongue. It is wild and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people who were created in God’s likeness. 10 These praises and curses come from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, this should not happen. 11 Do good water and bad water flow from the same spring? Of course not.” James 3:2-11
In chapter one of James we are told to be quick to hear, slow to anger and slow to speak. Control the tongue – our words. God created the worlds with His words – they are powerful! So, we need to emulate the Father and use our words wisely.
Finally, if we take instruction from King Solomon his words of wisdom will bring a good result in our lives.
“The tongue can speak words that bring life or death. Those who love to talk must be ready to accept what it brings.” Proverbs 18:21 ERV
“A gentle answer makes anger disappear, but a rough answer makes it grow. Listening to wise people increases your knowledge, but only nonsense comes from the mouths of fools.3 The LORD sees what happens everywhere. He watches everyone, good and evil.4 Kind words are like a life-giving tree, but lying words will crush your spirit.” Proverbs 15:1-4 ERV
Be a giver of life.