With This Mouth I Thee Wed

I remember thirty years ago, I was sitting in my old home church listening to Reverend Ayo, an African evangelist, preaching about being careful with the words that come out of your mouth. The title of the message was “Change your language.”

I’ve recently had an a-ha moment about my faith walk. I speak to my mother pretty regularly over the phone. A few weeks ago I shared that I had a job interview and was contacted shortly thereafter to be told that I wasn’t the right fit, not enough experience, etc. In my gut I knew those reasons were fluff.

What the interviewer failed to say was my conversation was very negative. I expounded on my negative experiences in Hollywood rather than highlighting what I love about my career and the positive experiences. In fact, during the interview the woman sitting across from me jolted me out of my state of mind abruptly saying, “Is there anything you LIKE about what you do?”

Before that moment, I had no idea I was speaking negatively. It came naturally. My mother explained her observation of my negativity seemingly born after I had a stroke. Although her observation was true, I must admit to being a negative person before the stroke. I always had employment favor but remember always being cynical about humans and their intentions. I know that if I would have allowed the Holy Spirit to guide my speech, I’d be sitting in a lovely office right now continuing my chosen career.

Although I cannot divorce my physical mouth from my physical body, what I can do is commit to speaking life into every situation. Christianity is a walk and when God chooses us to be part of His kingdom, He’ll equip us with the life tools that we need. I can remember to renounce out loud the temptation to engage in negative conversations during future meetings.

I can remember to ask God to direct my speech, my demeanor, my attitude about the past. I can get back into the habit of prayer before I do anything. I can ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. By doing that, I know God’s promise will take full effect. I’ll land my heart’s desire. All I ever had to do was speak with Him and get His perfect direction. Above all things, He wants us to prosper and to be in good health.

He wants us to exercise divine hope and optimistic assurance. I’ve been born again with the gift of faith so my guarantee is to put my faith into practice and watch God use me for His glory. When we keep God’s Word perpetually on our lips, we have the ultimate example of a marriage: a partner who loves us so much that He will never leave or forsake us even if we forget to properly communicate with Him. Because of my faith, I can guarantee that my next devotional will be a victory report.

Memory Verse:
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”
-Proverbs 18:21 (KJV)

Prayer Prompt:
“Father, thank You, for Your revelation knowledge. Please forgive me for my unbelief. I have a heart to be pleasing in Your eyes. I want my praise for You and my communication with You to be a sweet smelling savor. Help me to speak divine hope and optimistic assurance over the following areas of my life….”

Contributing Writer:
Dale Ottley