Walking with the Wise #122: Wind, Work, and Words
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How much do words mean? Think about a time in your life when someone encouraged you. In the depth of our heart, we know the power of words. Some of us carry scars of hurtful words told to us years, if not decades, ago. We also know how much encouragement can mean to us. Words said that lifted our spirits and that enabled us to go on, to pursue Christ with greater vigor and strength. Words can be like wind. If the environment in which we find ourselves is hot and exhausting, encouraging words act like a cool breeze to encourage our soul. But unkind, cruel, or mean words are like hurricane force winds that destroy. Both are winds, one calms and encourages while the other kills and destroys.
The fruit of speaking good words, encouraging or edifying words, is found in the good that brings us. When we speak well of others, when we become their encourager or defender, we will find them being knit closely to us. Once we have defended and encouraged them, we will quickly see them become our chief defender and encourager.
The same is true with work. Our proverb for today unites words and work together, noting that both of them are beneficial to us when we use them with integrity, honesty, and diligence. If we speak in such a way that others are helped by our words, we will receive the fruit of that. The same is true in our work. If we are hard workers, we will receive the fruit of our labor.
Being a Christian means letting God transform our words and our work for His glory. Before we were followers of Jesus, our words cut and hurt others. We would tear them down in order to build ourselves up. But not now. When God’s Spirit comes into our lives, He starts growing the Son of God within us, transforming our words and works for His glory.
May the Son of God be seen in our work and may our words point others to the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, who is the first, last, and greatest word to ever be spoken. Amen.
“From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good,
and the work of a man’s hand comes back to him.”
—Proverbs 12:14
and the work of a man’s hand comes back to him.”
—Proverbs 12:14
How much do words mean? Think about a time in your life when someone encouraged you. In the depth of our heart, we know the power of words. Some of us carry scars of hurtful words told to us years, if not decades, ago. We also know how much encouragement can mean to us. Words said that lifted our spirits and that enabled us to go on, to pursue Christ with greater vigor and strength. Words can be like wind. If the environment in which we find ourselves is hot and exhausting, encouraging words act like a cool breeze to encourage our soul. But unkind, cruel, or mean words are like hurricane force winds that destroy. Both are winds, one calms and encourages while the other kills and destroys.
The fruit of speaking good words, encouraging or edifying words, is found in the good that brings us. When we speak well of others, when we become their encourager or defender, we will find them being knit closely to us. Once we have defended and encouraged them, we will quickly see them become our chief defender and encourager.
The same is true with work. Our proverb for today unites words and work together, noting that both of them are beneficial to us when we use them with integrity, honesty, and diligence. If we speak in such a way that others are helped by our words, we will receive the fruit of that. The same is true in our work. If we are hard workers, we will receive the fruit of our labor.
Being a Christian means letting God transform our words and our work for His glory. Before we were followers of Jesus, our words cut and hurt others. We would tear them down in order to build ourselves up. But not now. When God’s Spirit comes into our lives, He starts growing the Son of God within us, transforming our words and works for His glory.
May the Son of God be seen in our work and may our words point others to the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, who is the first, last, and greatest word to ever be spoken. Amen.
This is awesome!!! Thanks for sharing!
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