Joyful Words Blog
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path.
– Psalm 119:105
– Psalm 119:105
…for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks. Luke 6:45
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the way people speak to others. I was noticing in the airport a couple of weeks ago how people just didn’t seem to hold back or temper their words with compassion or perspective. And in His fanciness, the Father began to point me to words and scripture about my own tongue. I had to laugh when I prayerfully began pondering my own word choices, I read this African Proverb: The tongue weighs so little but so few can seem to hold it. When I got done laughing I started reading in Luke’s Gospel and ran across the verse above. Now that’s an entire Holy Hour in ten words! Even though my heart is buried deep within my chest, my mouth is its perfect reflection. Sometimes that’s a great thing and sometimes not so much! As I prayed with this Gospel, so filled with gems and treasures, I just kept coming back to this one line again and again. The sad reality that washed over me was…sometimes my heart and words are judgmental and fickle. The Holy Spirit painfully allowed me to see that more often than I’d care to admit, my heart and words were different based on what the person I was speaking to would think of me. I realized that sometimes my heart and words are more patient and kinder because I might get something in return. That led me to discover and prayerfully confess that my heart wasn’t always full of his gigantic love for me. If it was, the only thing that would come forth would be HIS love, HIS attitude and HIS words. I am His creation but I don’t always bear good fruit and that stems from the gunk I let settle into my heart. If my mouth is complaining and judging and arguing and sassing, my heart needs a “Love of Jesus” refill that only comes in prayer. Keeping my heart right so my mouth follows requires desiring the holiness of myself and of others. It also requires that I contemplate the fact that HIS is the only opinion of me that matters. Praying on those truths should get my tree filled up with HIS good fruit. A Seed To Plant: Spend some time in prayer with this line and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the people and places that don’t always bring out the best of your heart and words. Pray that the Father will give you the strength to hold your tongue. Blessings on your day!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Subscribe to Joyful Words Blog
Sheri's writing can also be found at Faith Catholic Publications and on CatholicMom.com
Archives
December 2023
|
Email [email protected]Phone 989.640.6673 |
|
Content is the intellectual property of Sheri Wohlfert
|
Created by Olivia K Design
|