Short Thought continued.....
Sticks and Stones
"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me".
What a load of rubbish!
'A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything, or destroy it!
It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire.
A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that.
By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos,
throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke
and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.’
(James 3:4-6 The Message)
God had been ‘moving’ words of who He said I am from my head to my heart;
this was helping me to stand stronger and taller.
But then an accusation was made against me.
Two words were used to describe me and this started to define me.
Deep down, I knew that the words were not true.
Yet I listened to the enemy, and started to question:
What if they are true? What implications would this accusation have?
The person who had made the accusation refused to talk about the situation and the words used.
The enemy took her words and added fuel to the tiny sparks, and the 'fire' grew out of control.
The two words began to paralyse me and make me fearful about everything I said or did.
Listening to a talk on Colossians, God spoke to me as part of the first chapter was discussed:
‘Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour.
But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death
to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation..’
(Colossians 1:21-22 NIV)
Some of these words clearly spoke to me: 'Once you were.., but now.., by Christ..'
I was reminded, because of Christ, who I am is unchangeable.
I chose to declare who God says I am.
I chose to give my accusers words to Christ.
I wrote them down. I shredded them.
I realised the words of my accuser had made me very fearful and bitter against her.
I asked God to help me to forgive.
I made the choice to forgive before an apology was made, before forgiveness was asked for.
The next day unexpectedly the accusation was dropped: I believe God did a miracle.
The 'fire' was quenched, the fear lifted and the paralysis started to recede.
Once again I could lift my head, free from accusation, and stand strong and tall.
What hurtful words are you letting define you?
What truths can you declare about who God says you are?
Who do you need to forgive for their careless, harsh words?
Have you spoken careless words that you need to apologise for?