37 Days – Take A Step: Speak

Pastor Randy’s devotional:

Then the Lord reached out and touched my mouth and said, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth! Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms. Some you must uproot and tear down destroy and overthrow. Others you must build up and plant.” Jeremiah 1:9-10

January 19^th Prayer:

Father God, You have placed Your words in my mouth. Your words can move mountains, change hearts, change minds and convict of sin. Your word is alive and active. Give me courage to speak to my world—to change the atmospheres in my relationships, business, school and family. Fill me with grace and truth so that I can speak Your word in love . . . in Jesus’ name!

My thoughts:

There are times in my life when I have no idea what I’m going to say in a given situation.  Have you been there?  When a friend is going through deep, heart wrenching struggles; or when a family member’s feelings are deeply hurt by something and they come to you for counsel; or the death of a loved one; or someone comes to me for counsel on life decisions.  These are examples where the answers are seldom something known or derived from my own wisdom.  But, in the moment of truth when the counsel is needed, the Lord has placed the perfect words in my mouth that the other person might need to hear.  Many times it has been in the written word, but also in the spoken word, as I have trusted that He is wise, compassionate, all knowing and will use me as a simple vessel for His truth and love.

In Numbers 22:28, “…the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak.”  In Exodus 3:4, “God called to him from the middle of the bush…” and in 1 Kings 19:12, “…but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.”  The Lord has the ability to put Himself wherever He so chooses.  He is fully sovereign over all things, plants, animals, elements and yes even humans.  If He wants to speak through you, do you truly believe it is not possible?

Has He spoken through humans in the past?  Certainly you must agree that He has.  Biblical examples include the prophets like Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel & Elijah; the apostles like Paul, Timothy, John and Mark; John the Baptist in the wilderness; and of course the son of God – Jesus Christ.  Beyond the bible though, God has continued to speak through people in visions and dreams and even in prophetic voice.  Sure there are showmen who claim this, but there are also those who are authentically given the word of God to share with others.  Our Pastor Randy Harvey is one such man.  He has a keen ear and ability to hear the word of the Lord and then relay that to us in his congregation.  I believe Jesus is speaking to and through thousands of Muslims and Jewish people today as they come to a belief in Him as their Savior.

God can speak through anyone, or anything He chooses.  We have to have enough faith, trust and willingness to allow Him to.  Sometimes (as in the 2^nd chapter of Acts) this will sound like babble or utterances, and unrecognizable by humans in our given language.  This “speaking in tongues” is as real as the very next breath you take.  The Holy Spirit (God in spirit) is able to speak through us in a manner that most will not understand, but the Father does.  I’ve witnessed this first hand and know of it’s truth.

So, when you face the unknown and someone asks for your counsel, your advice, your helping support and wisdom on a subject, first go to the Lord in prayer and ask for Him to use you, to speak through you and to help you.  He is your provider and your counsel on all things and indeed will provide you with the right things to say at the right time.  Trust in Him.

Be Blessed,

Rich

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