“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
–Psalm 19:14 (NLT)

Have you ever gone through the experience of eating your words? Did you say something unpleasant that came back to haunt you? This has definitely happened to me, and I’m sure you have experienced it at least once.

One evening Sharon James, a famous Christian author and speaker, spontaneously decided to visit a friend. The visit went well until Sharon suddenly realized that it was late at night. She decided to tell her husband where she was, but when the answering machine picked up her call, she left a bitter message about how her husband must not care or worry about her whereabouts at this late hour. On her way home she met her husband, who was out looking for her.

After their joyful reunion, Mrs. James erased her hateful message from the answering machine, and she figured that was the end of that. A day or two later, Sharon’s husband told her something was wrong with the machine, and showed her the outgoing message. The author was horrified to learn that thanks to a thunderstorm, the machine’s friendly greeting to incoming callers now sounded something like this:

“Hello there! You have reached the James residence. … I’m at my friend’s house, but you must not care at all because you didn’t pick up the phone! … Please leave your message after the beep, thank you!”
An embarrassed and chastened Sharon prayed and asked God to forgive her for her hateful words, which had given her much more than she’d bargained for.

Sometimes our careless or bitter words can hurt or kill a relationship. Sometimes they can reach more people than we intended, like that scrambled voice-mail greeting. In order to stop these negative things from happening, I suggest starting each day by praying and asking God to guide your words today.

The psalm I quoted earlier would make a great daily prayer to God. This may seem like too short or simple a prayer, but God has promised to pay attention to our requests, no matter how small or unimportant they may seem to us. If you have asked Jesus Christ into your life, the Holy Spirit will guide you and help you to say the right things.

Maybe you’re going through a tough situation right now because of something you have said, or because of staying silent when you should have spoken up. We all lose our cool sometimes, and we may say things we regret later. Whenever this happens, ask God to forgive you with all your heart. God will hear and understand your request.

The Bible says that all things work together for good, if you believe in God and Jesus Christ and if you have been called according to His will. I hope that you will ask Him to guide your words, and that you will ask for His forgiveness and His help when your words get you into trouble. Words are powerful things, so it’s up to you to ask God how you can use them wisely.

Thank you for reading this, and may the Lord give you a wonderful week! We are trying to reach people who are hurting, so if God lays it on your heart, please consider becoming a partner with us. If you would like to make a donation, please send it to HCMA (Healthcare Chaplains Ministry Association). Our ID number is 560. The address is 377 E. Chapman Ave., Suite 260, Placentia, CA 92870.
To find out more about HCMA, visit them at www.hcmachaplains.org.

If you have questions, comments or prayer requests for Timothy or Stephanie Burdick, please call 641-715-3900, ext. 874157.