As I read Psalm 39 today, there are two topics speaking to me. The first is a reminder of the power of our tongue. It is not so much a reminder of the power of our words, but in having wisdom of when to not speak and when to speak. A sure sign of maturity is the level of "opinion" someone gives. We all know people who voice their opinion on everything and they do not care who hears, who knows, or who is even listening. The Psalmist writes in this chapter of restraining his tongue, even with a muzzle. I find this verse very assuring! The author is acknowledging the strength sometimes needed to refrain from saying words that are better left unsaid!
The next verses are an admonition of the penalty for NOT speaking when God is prompting us to speak. Many of my regrets in conversations are not the words I said, but more the words I know I should have said, yet did not. The Psalmist writes here of the sorrow he felt after refraining from speaking good. Have you ever had a situation you walked away from and felt sad for not obeying God's spirit in the conversation? It could be with a friend, family member, or a stranger in the grocery store. There are times God has prompted me to give a word of encouragement to a stranger and because of my own insecurities regarding what they would think of me, I was not obedient. I have to admit I left the situation very sorrowful!
"I said, “I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, While the wicked are before me.” I was mute with silence, I held my peace even from good; And my sorrow was stirred up. My heart was hot within me; While I was musing, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue: . " Psalm 39:1-3
The next verses are an admonition of the penalty for NOT speaking when God is prompting us to speak. Many of my regrets in conversations are not the words I said, but more the words I know I should have said, yet did not. The Psalmist writes here of the sorrow he felt after refraining from speaking good. Have you ever had a situation you walked away from and felt sad for not obeying God's spirit in the conversation? It could be with a friend, family member, or a stranger in the grocery store. There are times God has prompted me to give a word of encouragement to a stranger and because of my own insecurities regarding what they would think of me, I was not obedient. I have to admit I left the situation very sorrowful!
"I said, “I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, While the wicked are before me.” I was mute with silence, I held my peace even from good; And my sorrow was stirred up. My heart was hot within me; While I was musing, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue: . " Psalm 39:1-3
The second topic speaking to me in this chapter is that of realizing the temporariness of our time here on earth. The words the Psalmists does speak are words to God of being reminded to acknowledge our time here. Death is something of a taboo subject. It's not exactly a happy subject for most people. However, our time here on earth when compared to eternity is so extremely temporary! The reality is each one of us have eternal life. The question each of us must answer is where will we spend that time? However, we also need to recognize our salvation through Christ is not only a "get out of hell" card. Salvation through Christ begins in this life. It starts here and now. The day you accept Christ as your savior is the day your eternal life in heaven begins. Christ wants to not only give you heavenly residence, He wants your life healed and restored here on earth also.
The Psalmist writes "And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You" in verse 7. (Sidenote: I'm fighting the urge to include another Third Day song here!) These two topics come together when viewing how our words will echo for eternity. Do our words give hope, encouragement, and help guide others to know the love of Jesus? Or do our words demean, destroy, and do more to turn people away from Christ than guide others to Him? Everything we do has some kind of consequence. The consequences are often never seen by us in our flesh. However, I believe in heaven we will be shown some of those "ripples" from an action or conversation we had, or did not have, while here on earth.
My prayer for each of you today is to recognize opportunities, as they are presented, to make a difference in someone's life. If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus, I pray today is the day you accept His love and the hope only He can provide. If you have accepted His forgiveness, but are not walking as if you were free, I pray today is the day you begin experiencing His freedom. I'm praying for you!
The Psalmist writes "And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You" in verse 7. (Sidenote: I'm fighting the urge to include another Third Day song here!) These two topics come together when viewing how our words will echo for eternity. Do our words give hope, encouragement, and help guide others to know the love of Jesus? Or do our words demean, destroy, and do more to turn people away from Christ than guide others to Him? Everything we do has some kind of consequence. The consequences are often never seen by us in our flesh. However, I believe in heaven we will be shown some of those "ripples" from an action or conversation we had, or did not have, while here on earth.
My prayer for each of you today is to recognize opportunities, as they are presented, to make a difference in someone's life. If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus, I pray today is the day you accept His love and the hope only He can provide. If you have accepted His forgiveness, but are not walking as if you were free, I pray today is the day you begin experiencing His freedom. I'm praying for you!
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