Life At Its Best: God wants to bless you, you can't change that
April 22, 2011 at midnight
Updated April 21, 2011 at 11:22 p.m.
By Jim Graff
In the Navy, there's a saying that "loose lips sink ships." In the same way, loose lips can sink a life. Speaking negative words can cause us to fail in our marriages, families and careers, but speaking life will cause us to sail successfully into God's blessing. James 3:2 says, "All of us do many wrong things. But if you can control your tongue, you are mature and able to control your whole body." Maturity is what will cause us to recognize the worth of our words. But if we refuse to recognize their importance and power in our lives, we'll end up wasting a life God meant for victory.
Think of ships. Though large, they're steered by a very small rudder. Even cruise ships - which are literally like floating malls - are steered that way. Or consider a horse. Living in South Texas, you're probably familiar with the mouthpieces called "bits" that we can use to steer even the strongest stallions. Through those bits, we have power to control the whole animal. Just as the rudder is necessary on a boat ride and the bit is vital for riding a horse, a tamed tongue is absolutely essential to experiencing a successful and enjoyable life.
I can still remember my dad teaching me about the power of my words. He'd say, "Jimmy, if you ever lose your self-esteem, remember that it was an inside job." What did he mean by that? He meant that you can't lose your self-esteem unless you give it away. You won't feel like a failure unless you first speak it.
I'm not oblivious to the fact that speaking life to our situations is tough, especially when there's so much negativity going on around us. I recently read that each American hears the word "no" 148,000 times before the time they're 18 years old. And 77 percent of the words we hear every day are negative. So, how do you stay positive in a society with such damaging attitudes toward life? You focus on what God says. We can't let those negative words connect to our hearts; we must protect what He has put on the inside of us.
You might be thinking, "That all sounds nice, Jim, but you have no idea how huge this storm is that I'm facing." Well, you're right. I probably don't. But I do know how huge God is, and I also know how huge His desire is to see you experience victory. Numbers 23:19-20 says, "God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? . He has blessed, and I cannot change it."
Isn't that great news? God wants to bless you, and you can't change it. No matter where you are or what you've done, God wants to help you succeed. But He can't begin to rebuild our future unless we first begin to speak the right words. So, let's choose today to speak life.
Jim Graff is the senior pastor of Faith Family Church in Victoria, Texas. www.faithfamilyvictoria.com.