Words... A Matter of the Heart

"Words are small things that hold incredible power"... and so begins my attempt to use that power in a way to glorify God! I chose control of the tongue as my spiritual discipline this week because I know that I struggle with it. Looking at it as a way of incarnating the love of Christ was eye opening to me. I'm a disciple of Christ, who is supposed to be showing others Christ's love through my words. Trying to recall even a small amount of words throughout a day is difficult, but I can always think of an instance when I wasn't controlling my tongue at some point in that day.

I feel as though this week I struggled more with controlling my tongue. But I believe I feel this way because I was more aware of it. I was looking for ways that I get caught in it, and kept finding myself in the middle of it. I don't see that as a negative thing though, because in order to bring about the change that I want, I need to see the problem. I need to recognize situations in which I am more sarcastic and the situations where I am prone to gossip, frustration, etc.

Throughout the week I kept remembering a particular Psalm which I would like to share with you...
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer", Psalm 19:14.
I made it my prayer. When I would catch myself in a situation where I was failing, this would come to mind. It is something that I memorized years ago, and conveniently resurfaced itself this past week. Thinking upon this verse, every word that I speak is a matter of the heart. The things that I say and the tone in which I say them comes from my heart. If my heart is not in the right place I am sure to stumble. I want my heart to be concerned with showing others the love of Christ. It's when I am behaving selfishly that I struggle with how I use my words.

I'm definitely still a work in progress, but God is working, making me more aware. Yes, it does get frustrating. But I cannot give up, because I know that God never will.