The Power of Words

So this weekend we received our first negative comments about our adoption. We knew they would come, but I must say I still wasn’t prepared with an answer.

• First were the eyes as big as saucers when I said we were planning to adopt a sibling group.


• Second came the question of will they be “dark skinned”? (The girls and I later had fun laughing over sarcastic responses we could have given like “Oh my we hadn’t considered that.” - But those of you who know me, know I would never in reality make such a comment.)


• Third was the unsolicited advice of why we should only adopt children under two years old. (Like children over this age shouldn’t be given a family because they might have emotional scars by no choice or fault of their own.)

I guess I didn’t realize how much these comments would bother me.

And then came the words of encouragement that I posted about yesterday. Words like these spur us to keep on going, even though it’s long and it’s hard. I have really appreciated not just the words, but how they were given and when they were received.

• First, they came just about 24 hours after the negative comments. This timing was not by accident.
  
• Second, they were straight from the word of God.
  
• Third, was how these words were given to us. My friend read the words over me. And then her husband read them over my husband. There is something powerful about having another man of God read scripture as a blessing and encouragement over your husband!


• Fourth – These friends didn’t know where we were specifically in our process. They didn’t know if we needed encouragement or were doing ok. They just heard from the Lord and passed it on to us.

And so I’ve been pondering on the power of the spoken word. It can be a curse or a blessing. How often have I failed to speak encouragement over someone who needs it? Do I only encourage when I sense someone is down and out? How often have I spoken careless words that have left a sting in someone else’s spirit? How often have I tried to encourage someone with my own words, when the Lord’s words would be so much better?

So I encourage first myself and then you – speak blessing and encouragement over those you encounter today. Ask the Lord to give you a word for someone who needs to hear from Him. Your words are more powerful than you know!

Proverbs 12:18 "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."