It was once said, "Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless."
Our words have the power to tear down or build up. The strength to breathe life or poison. Words have the same grace that was freely given to us or the condemnation that used to hold us down.
David went through this when he was running from the death threats of King Saul. And then a great thing happened, Jonathan came to visit.
1st Samuel 23:16 says, "And Jonathan, Saul’s son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God." No one knows for sure what it was that Jonathan said to David that day but we know that the words that he spoke were life giving to David. Five very short but very powerful words, "Strengthened his hand in God."Jonathan showed up in a very trying and stressful time in David's life. And he did what any real friend would do, he picked his friend up and encouraged him.
Jesus was the master of making people feel valued and encouraged. In Luke 13 Jesus healed a woman that had been crippled for the last eighteen years of her life. Only to later be criticized for healing that woman on the Sabbath. Jesus responded in verse 16 saying, "And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” The thing that strikes me here is that he didn't just refer to her as a "crippled" woman as she was previously known. He called her a "daughter of Abraham." Jesus saw her as she was meant to be and not as she once was. And He does that for us if we come to Him seeking forgiveness. I think that when this woman went home that day she walked straighter than she ever had and might have even skipped home with the words of Jesus ringing in her ears. Imagine being able to stand straight or better yet being able to stand at all after eighteen years of affliction.
We all live in a world that beats us up on a daily basis. We are all put down and worn out from the daily struggle that is life in this world. And what is the difference between us and the unbeliever? We have the privilege of saying to them, "You matter too! Your life counts as much as mine! God loves you and you my friend are valuable," We can walk straight up and tall with the knowledge of the Lord.
How will your words be remembered? Sharp and cutting like a two edged sword or encouraging and full of the same grace that was freely given to you?
All I can say to you is to choose them wisely because you never know which word will be your last.
Our words have the power to tear down or build up. The strength to breathe life or poison. Words have the same grace that was freely given to us or the condemnation that used to hold us down.
David went through this when he was running from the death threats of King Saul. And then a great thing happened, Jonathan came to visit.
1st Samuel 23:16 says, "And Jonathan, Saul’s son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God." No one knows for sure what it was that Jonathan said to David that day but we know that the words that he spoke were life giving to David. Five very short but very powerful words, "Strengthened his hand in God."Jonathan showed up in a very trying and stressful time in David's life. And he did what any real friend would do, he picked his friend up and encouraged him.
Jesus was the master of making people feel valued and encouraged. In Luke 13 Jesus healed a woman that had been crippled for the last eighteen years of her life. Only to later be criticized for healing that woman on the Sabbath. Jesus responded in verse 16 saying, "And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” The thing that strikes me here is that he didn't just refer to her as a "crippled" woman as she was previously known. He called her a "daughter of Abraham." Jesus saw her as she was meant to be and not as she once was. And He does that for us if we come to Him seeking forgiveness. I think that when this woman went home that day she walked straighter than she ever had and might have even skipped home with the words of Jesus ringing in her ears. Imagine being able to stand straight or better yet being able to stand at all after eighteen years of affliction.
We all live in a world that beats us up on a daily basis. We are all put down and worn out from the daily struggle that is life in this world. And what is the difference between us and the unbeliever? We have the privilege of saying to them, "You matter too! Your life counts as much as mine! God loves you and you my friend are valuable," We can walk straight up and tall with the knowledge of the Lord.
How will your words be remembered? Sharp and cutting like a two edged sword or encouraging and full of the same grace that was freely given to you?
All I can say to you is to choose them wisely because you never know which word will be your last.
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