Words
Jan 28, 2025 by Addison Crissone
And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, "Shout, for the Lord has given you the city." ... So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city.
-Joshua 16-20
-Joshua 16-20
When Joshua led the Israelites to Jericho, he did it at God's bidding. And when he told the people to shout, he did at God's bidding.
Joshua knew the power of God's word, and he trusted that God was able to use the feeble mouths of ordinary men to break down the walls that hindered them from possessing the land.
Our words matter.
What we say and what actions we take to back up what we say matters.
We waste so many words today because we speak so recklessly, without putting much thought at all into what we mean.
Proverbs 18:21 says that words have the power of "life and death".
Our words can either bring life or death.
Truth or lie.
Light or darkness.
They can either build up or tear down.
When we speak, our words can be gracious and seasoned with salt (Colossians 4:6), meaning they can be encouraging and elevating; or they can be discouraging and destructive. Our words have the power to tear down the barriers and walls in the heart, but they also have the power to build those walls.
This could be verbal abuse, words that were spoken to you and meant to penetrate so deep in your heart that you will never forget; maybe you were young, and you allowed those words to define yourself and your future. Maybe it was those careless words that were spoken too swiftly in a moment of anger that still bounced around your head, unable to find a place to rest.
Your heart could be hardened by all of these words.
You wish you could forget them, but you can't.
Or maybe you are dealing with remorse over the words you spoke to harm someone.
Maybe you spoke too harshly when you were bitter and said some things that you didn't mean.
We've all been there.
But my friend, there is still hope; maybe not all is lost.
When we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us and tough us, this can and does include giving us the right words to speak at the right moment.
When the Holy Spirit gives us the words to speak- or shout- our words will have the power to tear down the walls of a hardened heart and allow the Word of God to enter into it. When God begins to work in a heart, the hardness begins to fall away; the barrier that you have built over years of brokenness, abandonment, grief, and heartache, is torn down- just like with the walls of Jericho.
For the hurting and the lost, our words can bring relief and light of God's love.
For the discouraged and the weak, our words can mean encouragement and strength.
For the lonely and the grieving, our words can be the one source of friendship and comfort they have been looking for.
Why?
Because they aren't our words, but God's.
Speak God's words over someone's heart and someone's life today. Pray that God will tear down the walls of their hardened hearts that have been lost and broken, that they may find the Love of God.
Pray that God may speak through your words.
