Picture an egg. All you can see is the plain, hard shell. But every one knows that there is life growing inside of it.
I’ve been convicted recently for judging situations or people at face value. It’s easy to look at a hard situation, and pronounce negativity and complaints over it. It’s easy to look at someone’s lifestyle and pronounce judgment and annoyance over them.
However, like an egg, we may not be able to see the growth beyond the surface; beyond face value. And what the situation or person may need to further that internal growth is words of life and encouragement, rather than negativity.
Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”
When we’re not speaking life, we’re speaking death. I think of Ezekiel and the picture of the valley of dry bones. God asks Ezekiel to speak life over the bones, and as he’s speaking, the bones start to come to life. I’m convicted of the way I speak death over the hard times and hard people in my life.
The cool part is, “speaking life” is just handing over the situation to God and letting God’s truths and promises bring a peace that surpasses all fear and understanding.
Right now I guess I could say I’m somewhat in a “storm.” Rather than letting my mind focus on all the things that are going wrong and complaining about them… I can speak out God’s promises. He is for me. No matter what happens, I have an eternal hope. The very waves that I’m letting terrify me, are the waves he walked upon.
The same goes with a friendship in my life. I don’t completely agree with her lifestyle, and some days it’s hard to see the growth that I know is happening internally. It’s easy to give comments or feedback from a place of impatience and negativity. It’s easy to let my mind wander with how I wish she would live. But that is judging her for face value. I can speak death over her and let my impatience win. Or I can hand the situation over to God and let Him work, all the while speaking His truths and promises over her. I can speak life over her and watch what was dead come to life.
It’s a huge mental battle, ultimately, since that seems to be the place in my life where negativity likes to run rampant. God has been so faithful to call me out in the middle of my negative thoughts and I have to choose to think of life giving truths and promises. It’s been a very growing process! I find myself listing off in my head all the things I’m thankful for in situations I’d normally be so negative about.
That’s a little bit of what God is teaching me right now. Some scripture God used to teach me this is Acts 27 and Ezekiel 37.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I appreciate it! I apologize for the lack of blogs. I have a new challenge of writing at least one blog a week for the remaining month and a half on the Race. Please get on me if I go a week without posting one!!! 🙂
God bless you,
Sabrina
