The Power of Words
Whose words are you listening to? Choosing to believe that you are who the world, the enemy, and your flesh says you are instead of who God says you are will immobilize you, create a false reality, and keep you from knowing God’s will for your life.
Isaiah 26:3-4 says, “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Yet there are many living lives filled with pain, far from any kind of peace, let alone a perfect one. Anxiety, depression, fear, eating disorders, self-harm, and so many more things can haunt us and keep us in chains. Not one of these things are from God. Can God purpose these things? YES! Can God work them for our good? He always does, but we have to want freedom to live in freedom. We have to want it more than we want the comfort of the familiar, of staying in one place. Just like any other addiction, there are chemical reactions that go on inside that make every single one of these things difficult to let go of. The only way to true freedom is to replace every lie with God’s truth.
“And God said…” God created the world and gave life by speaking things into existence. Jesus was the Word spoken, carrying out the Father’s will. In the Great Commission, Jesus passed His authority onto us, and now we are to carry out God’s will. Matthew 28:18-20 tells us, “Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'”
We have been given Christ’s authority on the earth. All darkness is in submission to Him in us. He is the head, we are His body, and His fullness fills all in all (Eph. 1). That means that you have the authority to create the reality you live in by what you speak and how you think. The lies and truths we believe can create the personal reality that we live in and they directly affect how we perceive the world around us. For example, if you believe that you are a victim, you will experience life as a victim.
The words you speak and the thoughts you think are a direct reflection of where your heart is, of what you truly believe. Take Abraham (read Romans 4 for perspective). Abraham believed that God would be faithful, even though his circumstances shouted that he was too old to be a father, that it was physically impossible for his wife to bear a child. Those around him may have thought he was the delusional one, clinging for years to a promise from an unseen God. But wow, the glory of God that is released still because Abraham had hope. Faith is the result of truly knowing who God is, that He is good and, most importantly, that He loves with you without measure or limit exactly as you are today. And tomorrow. And the next day. You can’t earn that Love, and you can’t lose that Love. You just need to rest in it, placing all your hope and trust in Him.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” Proverbs 18:21 There is an enemy who wants you to believe lies about who you are and how much God really and truly loves you. He wants to disable you. He wants you to falter. He wants you to believe enough lies so that your light is hidden and dim. He wants you to allow those lies to repeat in your mind long enough so that you believe them at the very core of who you are, and those lies become a stronghold in your life that repels the love God is trying to give you.
This is why we are told in Romans and Corinthians to renew our minds. This takes daily time and intention. It isn’t something we can do all on our own, yet it does require our effort. One example of this effort is being careful about what we choose to feed into our minds and souls even more than being careful about what we feed our bodies. Feasting on the Word, drinking in His presence, listening to Christian music, being careful about what we read and watch all can have tremendous impact on renewing our minds. We have the ability and the tools to walk in freedom and light. Declaring truth over your life and spending more time with the Truth than with lies will establish a path to freedom from things that bind and enslave you. It’s a process filled with daily choices that will lead you in one direction or another.
The Word in you will continue to create a positive, light-filled life that glorifies God. Stir up that hunger, and fight the apathy and the pull of the world to do anything other than spending time with Jesus.
Lastly, if you believe something about yourself or say something with your mouth and it doesn’t line up with what God’s word says? Then it’s false. It’s not truth. And it’s counteractive to what God is trying to do in you and through you.
Words have power. Choose yours carefully.
(Scripture references-John 1:1-4, 1:14, Colossians 1:17, Revelation 19:13, Ephesians 1:19-23, Psalm 141:3, Jeremiah 15:16, Matthew 4:4, Isaiah 42:9, John 8:32, Psalm 119:11, Proverbs 23:7).
Katie, you have such a gift for boldly speaking truth and the Lord uses that to convict and challenge my heart every time. THIS WAS SO GOOD. and just what my soul needed to hear, it’s absolutely crazy how much this all fits into what the Lord has been teaching me and He’s literally been using SO many resources to say the exact same thing over the last week and this was just spot on.