How many words do you speak in a day? 7,000? 10,000? 20,000? The idea of counting them is exhausting to even consider. How many good words do you speak in a day? That is an even more sobering idea. Yet we must consider it.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. ~ Psalm 19:14
“the words of my mouth”
I too often say too many words in a day. Perhaps some may be spoken in wisdom and kindness, but often I continue and speak rashly, without thought, without love. I speak from stress not wisdom, emotion not conviction.
“meditation of my heart”
What I dwell on spills forth in the overflow. Jesus said that “what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person” (Matthew 15:18). So what I often speak of is a good indicator of the state of my heart. And even when I might manage to curb my tongue, the Lord still knows the meditations of my heart!
“acceptable to you”
Sometimes we forget what the real standard is. We care about what others think or what everyone’s doing. We care about tangible productivity or achieving goals. But it’s the Lord who counts. He is the one we need to be acceptable to!
Sometimes I must speak truth to those who do not wish to hear it. Sometimes I speak too much where the Lord would have bid me be silent. Wisdom hangs in the balance to find what is acceptable not to my feelings or society’s dictates but to the Lord’s will.
“my rock”
I am not steady like the Lord is. I am tossed to and fro. I am fickle and emotional. I change my mind. But the Lord is bed rock firm, solid ground that will not move. I can lean on him.
“redeemer”
He has saved me and bought me back, not from my own efforts but his. I must learn to remember and dwell on what he has done for me, not on what I or others have done.
May he alone guide our hearts and words.
Photo by Timothy Dykes on Unsplash
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