The Gift of the Spoken Word
by Drenda Keesee
Christmas is just a few days away and so many of us will be gathered with extended family, so here’s a good reminder of the importance to speak life over those you spend time with through the holidays!
We have all heard the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” but just because a word can’t draw blood doesn’t mean it can’t do some serious damage.
In our media-obsessed culture, words are spoken so quickly and so reactively, without any pause or reflection as to what the consequences will be, but words have incredible power, and they indicate…
…a healthy spirit!
By your word, a person will know your heart.
Proverbs 15:4 tells us, “The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.”
Think about how often you guard your body. You put on your seat belt to protect your body in the event of a crash. You are mindful of what you eat and whether it is healthy or unhealthy. You have checkups at the doctor’s office. You look both ways when crossing a street.
You protect your body as much as possible, but how often do you guard your words?
Your mouth is a powerful weapon.
The Holy Spirit wants to use your mouth to heal the sick, prophesy, cast down the enemy’s strongholds, and more, but the enemy wants to pervert your speech because he knows your words are a powerful weapon for God’s Kingdom.
Be mindful. Be on guard. Be aware of the words that are coming out of your mouth.
Psalm 141:3 tells us “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.”
If you had to put $20 in a jar every time you spoke negative words, would you be poor by the end of the month?
Here is a practical idea for monitoring what is coming out of your mouth. Every time something negative comes out of your mouth: an unkind word, gossip, swearing, taking God’s name in vain, take $20 out of your wallet and donate it to your local church or a charity of your choosing. Once you can feel the impact of negative words on your wallet, you might start to become more aware of the negative impact they have on your life.
Each time you pay $20 for speaking negative words, think about how much more it costs your spirit!
Think about this…
When you open your mouth to speak, God is speaking through you, if you let Him! You are His ambassador, His representative. You either represent who He is, or you claim to; God knows the difference.
I want to leave you with Ephesians 4:29 (TPT)…
“And never let ugly or hateful words come from your mouth, but instead let your words become beautiful gifts that encourage others; do this by speaking words of grace to help them.”
May you and your family have a blessed Christmas full of life-filled words this year!
~Drenda
ps…Are you looking for a good church? Be sure and listen on Saturday evening or catch the 3 services on Sunday for Faith Life Church!
Drenda Keesee’s contagious zeal and humorous personal experiences help make her ministry of spiritual, emotional, and relational wholeness one that will bless your life and spark a new fire in your spirit.
A wife of over 30 years and a mother of five children, Drenda has ministered at churches, seminars, and conferences, and through the mediums of television and radio, for more than 20 years.
Her books, The New Vintage Family, Better Than You Think, and She Gets It are available wherever books are sold. In these heartfelt books, Drenda shares her personal journey and the life lessons that have brought her to where she is today, as well as practical answers that all people need to live a joyful life.
Drenda and her husband Gary founded Faith Life Now, a ministry designed to spread the message of freedom in the areas of finances, faith, marriage, and family. Tune in for their weekly messages here. Faith Life Now hosts conferences worldwide and sponsors both Fixing the Money Thing, which Drenda co-hosts with her husband Gary and Drenda.
Through their own life experiences, the Keesee’s have found the principles from God’s Word to be powerful and effective. At one point, Drenda was a young, suicidal feminist with no hope of ever being “good enough” for her own standards of perfection. She never wanted the “inconvenience” of a husband or children, and she was on her own path to success. But the stress of trying to achieve perfection and perform for love left her broken and used. She had success, but it was nothing compared to the pain and loneliness it had also brought.
That’s when God got a hold of her heart. It was there—at her lowest point—that she found the One who accepted and loved her, faults and all. Since that transformation, Drenda has had a passion to reach women who find themselves where she once was.
She married Gary after attending college, and there she found herself in a personal boot camp of sorts. She says, “I cried and told God, ‘I can do anything but be a wife and mother.’” She committed to learning how to do it God’s way. Through the many years of raising their children and struggling to make ends meet, Drenda learned from their mistakes. “I didn’t know how to be a wife and mother, but God saved our marriage, taught us how to parent our children for success, showed us how to have financial success, and then the irony of all ironies, He called us to ministry.” It’s truly because of these life experiences that Drenda can now share so many insightful principles for people who are now going through the same struggles.
