Honor: Our Words

Words can bless and they can curse. Do we fully understand the power of our words? Do we think before we speak? Do we take every thought captive to obey Christ?  (2 Corinthians 10:5)

I was not taught the power of words until recent years. Oh how I wish I had known from childhood. Perhaps I wouldn’t have cursed people with my words. Perhaps I wouldn’t have been in agreement with the enemy of my soul on many, many things just by speaking it out. I am humbled by the grace of God’s forgiveness for such disobedience. 

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of your life, the Holy Spirit resides within you. You have been given the gift of a counselor, guide and comforter. Hallelujah! If you are yielded to the Spirit, you will know when you thoughts do not honor God. You will know when your words do not honor the person you are directing them to. However, just because we know doesn’t mean we are obedient. God is dishonored by our disobedience.  That may seem harsh but it is truth, God’s truth as spelled out in His Word. 

The wounding of angry words can go very, very deep. Words can be soul crushing; a physical blow may not have the depth of impact of words. Words spoken over us as children and as adults can become ingrained. We begin to believe them, to make them part of our identity. In doing so, we are agreeing with the enemy whose greatest desire is to lie, steal and destroy.  He thrives on destroying us, on crushing us, on making us believe we are less than who God says we are. 

My greatest desire in working with women is to bring them to a place of seeing themselves as God sees them, of recognizing who has given them their identity. To bring them to a place of reaching for, holding and then fulfilling the purposes God has for them. 

This very thing has been a huge struggle for me. I believed the words of my childhood, from my parents, from teachers, from people of authority in my life. They became a part of me. In my adulthood, I searched desperately to be loved unconditionally because of those words. The enemy had convinced me I was unlovable. I made poor choices that had a ripple effect all around me. I left broken people in my wake. 

It wasn’t until I fully surrendered to God that he brought the person I had longed for into my life. A man who loves me like I never dreamed possible. Through deliverance, I have been set free from the words that defined me. I now recognize I have the power and authority in Jesus Christ to cast down curses and words that are hurtful. And through the eyes of my loving husband, I am better able to see what God sees. I couldn’t be more thankful.

Honor God with your thoughts and words today. Honor the people around you by speaking blessing into their lives. In that, God will be honored as well.