Growing up in a Christian home, our church attendance was a must. In the churches we attended, we sang hymns, did responsive readings in unison, and enjoyed listening to the choir sing a well-rehearsed song. As an 8yo, all I can remember thinking was, “BORING…” That kind of service is not for everyone, but I do know that there are some who find comfort in the uniformity that many church services offer. Personally, I prefer a different type of service. Since walking away from the church scene as a teenager and not returning till my mid-twenties, I’ve been challenging myself to learn more and more about who God is outside of the definition religion offers. I want it to be more… personal.
One of my favorite discoveries doesn’t directly have to do with God being either angry or loving, the many thou-shalt-nots of the Bible, or the confidence we should be walking in as heirs of God. No, my discovery had to do with the power of the tongue. Proverbs 18:21 tells us that the tongue has the power of life and death. In James 3:4-6, the tongue is compared to a small rudder that determines the course of a large boat and a small spark that sets a great forest on fire. The tongue is very powerful! I find it quite interesting that Jesus is referred to as “the Word.”
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” John 1:1-2 (NIV)
Another scripture that solidifies the power that we can’t even fathom is in Hebrews:
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:3 (NIV)
Our very world is held together by – or sustained by – God’s Word! There is power in words! From the creation story in Genesis we learn that words spoke everything into existence. I’ve only cited a few scripture passages, but there are so many more. Deuteronomy 8:3 is a commonly quoted verse about not living on bread alone, but on every word of God. Did you know that there’s an extraordinary amount of people who are living a life of dissatisfaction? They have everything they could ever want, but they have a void that they can’t seem to fill. The Word of God!
As I’ve mulled all of this over (and over and over again) and even as I type this out, I think I should make myself clear on where I stand: I fully agree with scripture – there is power in our words, God’s Word is what holds the world together, and we’re left wanting without God’s Word. What I absolutely do not agree with is how these Biblical truths have been twisted and now get such a bad rap. Allow me to explain…
Before I started searching for God again, I was in a bad place emotionally and spiritually. I was searching for something (sometimes it was a someone) that would satisfy on a spiritual level. I was big on self-help books like no other, but I found no room for grace. In order to get the results the books bragged about, there was very little (if any) room for human error. Similar to the thousands of fad diets out there, the self-help books did not offer long-term sustainability. So what did I do? I looked for another self-help book, this time picking up “The Secret.” At the time, I truly believed that there wasn’t any problem with positivity being released into the cosmos and expecting something positive in return. The links below will help in explaining my stance stance on “garbage in, garbage out”? I was hooked for about half the book. Then I started having my doubts.
I started doubting because of things I had witnessed growing up. The book claimed that checks would magically appear in your mailbox out of nowhere if you just envisioned it strongly enough. Where is God in all of this? My own parents went through a time where money was extremely tight (many of us have been there). They would be short on rent or a utility payment and then get some money in the mail. The sender would simply state that God had laid it on their heart to send it. In the book “The Secret,” God is not the author, but a mere bystander or onlooker. In the end, I regretted (and still regret) ever buying and recommending the book.
I say all of this because I am a huge believer that there is power in our words. Some might say that this is a dangerous path (like that of “The Secret”), but there is always a way that the devil can twist truths to make them false and omit our need of a Savior. Being ignorant to the promises of God, the authority we have as children of God, and the depths of grace God’s freely given us are just a few of the ways we weaken ourselves to the schemes of the devil.
When well-meaning people (in and out of the church) believe that God gives us disabilities, diseases, and hardships to teach us lessons, strengthen our faith, or to judge, it’s not too different from the mentality of “The Secret.” We’re attributing to God that which is not from God, and completely taking on the burden of self-sufficiency. Anything good we receive is from the positivity we’ve released into the universe… anything negative is our own fault because it’s what we’ve released into the universe… and many other “logical” explanations.
Do I believe in the power of our words? Yes. I believe that what is in my mind will, at some point, come out of my mouth. I believe that as I fill my mind with things that are not of God, not truth, and not lining up with scripture, I will directly be influenced by those things.
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is praiseworthy – think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
My husband and I believe that healing was purchased for us on the cross. The Greek word, “Sozo,” is the word we typically read as “salvation” when reading the Bible. There are many who believe that the King James Version is the most accurate translation around when it comes to Bibles. Whether true or not, the King James New Testament was originally translated from a Greek manuscript. The word “Sozo” has several meanings: save/be saved, whole, healed, preserve, and well.
Throughout Matthew, Mark, and Luke, every time Jesus healed someone, the original Greek translation had the word “Sozo.” From Matthew to Revelation, the salvation of our souls has the same word used: Sozo. We believe in the whole salvation that Jesus suffered to provide us with. What does this have to do with the ridiculous book called “The Secret” and the power of our words, and our tongue being a rudder?
While we rightly believe in what the scriptures say, we’re not perfect. We speak out of frustrations, we rely on medical explanations without turning to the Creator of everything, and we even have times in which we turn to self-help nonsense that puts a heavy yoke of self-condemnation around our necks.
If our words didn’t hold any power, had no real significance, and were of no consequence, why would the Bible tell us that they hold the power of life and death? If anyone believes that to not be true, let me ask you if the world is still held together? If our very existence is held together by the power of God’s Word, then it’s true that the power of life and death are found in the words we say. Our reality is directed by the words we use (rudder).
Here’s a challenge for you: start speaking the truths, the promises, of God. Here are just some of the many truths we can rely on God for. These are always true for those who believe in God:
- You’re a new creation (II Corinthians 5:17)
- God will never leave you or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6 & 8)
- You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)
- You have been healed (Isaiah 53:5)
- You have eternal security in your salvation (John 10:28-29)
- You are an overcomer (I John 5:4)
- You have a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11)
- God is not angry with you (Isaiah 54:9)
- God gives good gifts (Matthew 7:9-11)
- Our sins are no longer in the picture (Psalm 103:12)
- God loves us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3)
Instead of relying on a self-help book that has a foundation of non-existent scientific “facts,” let us rely on God’s everlasting truths. Let’s start using our words to produce life as we face the obstacles in our daily experiences. Let’s speak the same truths that hold the world in place and see how our ship is able to navigate through both calm and stormy waters.