May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." - Psalm 19:14 NIV
A friend and I had a conversation a few days ago.... immediately, we started talking about what had been going on in our lives and dug into a discussion about life in general. Just a few minutes into our catch-up session, a person's name {who I didn't care for} came up. My friend told me a story that made me got heated towards this person even more. I then told my friend a story about this same person that made him even more heated towards this person....... and so our conversation went......
When we finished talking, there was a sick feeling inside me. My thoughts wandered through our conversation and I felt deeply convicted it'd been nothing but idle talk. I thought I was just catching up with an old friend but the reality is, it was idle talk. But I tries consistently to find myself in need of God's grace, mercy and forgiveness.
Today's key verse, Psalm 19:14 , has been helpful for me to remember how God desires my heart and words to be filled with things that honor Him.
The Scripture is teaching me so much about my words...
- I'm understanding how I have the ability to speak life or death through the words I use (Prov. 18:21 NIV).
As I've been allowing these Truths to shape my character, I've begun to understand how my slip-ups (sin) move me further away from God. One of the greatest deceptions of sin is that we often don't realize what we've done until it's too late.
But thankfully God is always willing to forgive us and empower us to become stronger in Him.
So how should we handle conversations like these? Preventing: gossip is one of the greatest ways to not get caught up in it. Some days I have to consciously say to myself, "I don't want to dishonor anyone with my words today." I've asked God to make me aware of conversations that don't bring honor. "A prudent man keeps his knowledge to himself, but the heart of fools blurts out folly." (Prov. 12:23 NIV)
Another way we can handle gossip-centered conversations is by ignoring them. Just because we've heard the latest juicy scoop doesn't mean we have to continue to spread it. "A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret." (Prov. 11:13 NIV)
I'm still working through this. I felt horrible for how my conversation went that day. But, I'm challenged to prevent, ignore or confront conversations like these. I want my words and my heart to be pleasing to God, so please pray for me as i pray for myself and others.
Dear Lord, as I continue to work out my word-struggles with You, thank You for Your grace, mercy and forgiveness. Please help me to keep these Truths close to my soul so I can better represent You with my words each day. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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