Shut that Devil Up! The Healing Power of Your Words
I want to give you one of the keys to unlocking health and wholeness for your life.
This one is possibly the most powerful of all because it is connected to all the rest.
In these last days, knowing how to control your mouth will make all the difference in the world in your walk with God. The devil is working hard to destroy all kinds of relationships by the things people say to each other. To combat that demonic strategy, Christians must be well-equipped by the Word of God to know what to speak in every situation.
Your mouth can either steal from or add to your own strength. James 3:5 sets the stage with a clear word picture that reveals the power of your words.
Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! (James 3:5)
I know for sure that my tongue has caused a few “forest fires” in my lifetime! That is probably true for you as well. Thank God, we’re growing in Him and in the knowledge of His Word! We’re turning to Him more and more, and He is developing in us discipline in our hearts and our minds, which is going to help us control our tongue.
I’m going to give you some principles from the Word to help you in this area. You need to know how to avoid starting those fires with your mouth in the first place. And if you do start one, you need to know how to put out that fire before it brings destruction — which most certainly includes a negative impact on your own physical and emotional health.
I want us to look into the book of Proverbs, because it has quite a bit to say on this principle of opening our mouths with wisdom. Solomon, who wrote most of these scriptures (see Proverbs 1:1; 10:1; 25:1), was the richest and most powerful king of his time, and in his reign there was no war. I believe we are wise if we listen to the wisdom that Solomon wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit in this book.
Let’s begin in Proverbs 31, a chapter that describes an amazing and godly woman. This is what is said about the words of her mouth:
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness (Proverbs 31:26).
This is true for males and females alike. I want my mouth to speak according to the law of kindness. I know you do too.
Let’s look for a moment at the negative examples God provides on how to avoid the speaking of wrong words from our mouth. For instance, Proverbs 11:22 is a rather interesting scripture:
As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a lovely woman who lacks discretion (Proverbs 11:22).
The woman in this scripture (and, again, this principle applies to men too!) doesn’t think of the consequences of her words before she speaks. She just says whatever she wants to say according to whatever way she feels. If she’s angry or tired, everyone is going to know it. If she has an opinion, everyone is going to know it.
And this scripture says that the woman is beautiful. Her face is pleasant to look at, yet her mouth says anything she wants to say. She has no discretion or desire to think through what she is about to say. She doesn’t take the time to think, I could really hurt someone’s feelings or cause offense if I say that. Instead of considering the words that would be best to speak, she just says whatever she feels without regard to the possible consequences.
Even if a woman like that is beautiful, the Bible says it’s like putting a ring on a pig’s nose. In other words, a ring doesn’t belong on a pig’s nose, and neither does a woman need to have a mouth like the one I just described. The indiscretion of her mouth makes her unattractive, regardless of her physical beauty.
Proverbs 27:15 and 16 give us another vivid illustration of how God views a person with an unrestrained mouth:
A continual dripping on a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike; whoever restrains her restrains the wind, and grasps oil with his right hand.
The Hebrew word for “dripping” doesn’t carry the meaning of just a few drops of water. It’s talking about buckets of water — water that doesn’t just drip, but it pours out and feels as if it will never stop! So if a wife is using her mouth for complaining and fault-finding against her husband, it isn’t like drops of water pelting the man. It’s more like she is pouring buckets of cold water on him!
I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a woman like that. She might go on and on about how she doesn’t like the salary her husband earns. She doesn’t like how he talks, how he stands, how he sits, how he treats the children, how he talks to her mother, etc. This type of wife just keeps pouring buckets of criticism on her husband, and her words are such a powerful force that the man cannot escape!
Verse 16 goes on to say, “Whoever restrains her restrains the wind….” This kind of woman is likened to wind — and who can restrain the wind? That’s the kind of power this woman wields using the words of her mouth.
The verse continues: “…and grasps oil with his right hand.” This woman complains and criticizes so much that it’s like she has poured rancid oil on her husband, and he cannot escape the smell or the feel of it.
Although these verses refer specifically to wives, it’s important to understand that this principle can be turned around and applied to men as well. A husband’s negative words poured out on his wife hold the same destructive force as a wife’s negative words poured out on her husband. The power of words knows no gender!
It is truly profound to think of the kind of power we have with our words. God help us use that power for good! May our words always be words that build up and edify (see Ephesians 4:29)!
Life or Death? It’s Our Choice!
The words of our mouth are so very important. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Every day we’re choosing which force — death or life — that we’re going to release from our mouths through our words.
It’s also important that each of us understands that whatever comes out of our mouth is our own responsibility, not the responsibility of someone else. We can’t blame the wrong things we say on anyone else.
“But, Denise, you don’t know how they treat me.” I understand that you may be facing difficult challenges in your relationships or your circumstances. But if you don’t take responsibility for your
own words and you keep trying to blame someone else, you will not be able to make the changes necessary to experience victory in your life. You’ll stay the same while you keep blaming others for your situation, and you’ll become more and more a victim in your own eyes.
But you’re not a victim. In Christ Jesus, you are a victor! However, that means you must take responsibility for your words and determine that what comes out of your mouth will bring only good to others.
We want to be carriers only of life, so let’s explore just a few of the many things the Word has to say about words that either create death or create life. God has provided great instruction in this area for us to study and obey.
First, Proverbs 18:8 addresses the danger of gossip as one form of “death” that we have to guard against coming out of our mouth.
The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body.
That phrase “tasty trifles” is very telling, reflecting both the attitude of the talebearer and of the one who greedily receives those words into his hearing and his being. It’s like the person gossiping is thinking, Oh, just let me find another morsel to gossip about. It tastes so good — yum, yum!
This verse goes on to say that before those words of gossip bring their destructive power to the person being gossiped about, they go down into the inmost body of the person speaking or hearing them. That is a direct warning to all who indulge in gossip.
Let’s look at one more verse on the subject of gossip. It is amazing what this verse reveals about the destructive power of words that fit in this category!
A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow (Proverbs 25:18).
That is a powerful verse. It’s saying that if we gossip, it’s the equivalent of our hurting, maiming, or even killing another per- son three times in three different ways: once with a club, once with a sword, and once with a sharp arrow. And it’s all done with our mouth!
We can’t escape this spiritual principle by ignoring it. The Bible says we don’t belong to ourselves — we belong to God. And our mouth is part of what belongs to Him.
God isn’t mincing words. He is letting us know that in His eyes, when we speak words that hurt people, it is equivalent to hurting, maiming, or even killing them three different ways. That is powerful incentive to commit our tongue to the Lord and ask Him to help us put a watch over our mouth continually!
Proverbs 18:20 gives us further insight into the power of our words:
A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; from the produce of his lips he shall be filled.
In other words, the words we speak provide a supply of either life or death that fills us on the inside. Every day we make the choice regarding the kind of supply that is filling us.
Consider what kind of supply is filling us if we’re speaking statements such as the following. All of these statements carry a powerful negative attitude in them.
“I can’t do it.”
“I can’t stand it anymore.”
“I’m done. I give up.”
“I don’t have anything to give.”
“My life is so pitiful.”
When we speak like that, those words of death are not only going into the atmosphere for the enemy to work with, but they are also entering us through the gates of our own ears. The Bible says we’re actually filled with the words we speak — so we need to fill ourselves with words of life that agree with God!
