Life's Daily Challenge Devotional

The tongue is a weapon

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit," Proverbs 18:21.

Bearer of life,

Life and death are in the power of the tongue. It is a weapon for good or for evil. God spoke and things were created. He gave us the ability to speak and to create. James 1:19 says, "... Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath." Some have said that this is why God gave us two ears, but only one mouth. We must slow down our speech so we can listen better. We need to carefully listen to what others are saying. We must also listen to the Spirit before giving any response. In John 10 Jesus said that we would know the Shepherd's voice, but would flee from the voice of a stranger. It takes time and practice to discern whether the voice we are listening to is the voice of our flesh, of the enemy, or of God. Reacting to two of the three turns our tongue into a deadly weapon for the enemy. Listening to and obeying the voice of the Shepherd turns our words into a flowing fountain of living water. Our words can be vessels of God to bring healing to people and to put enemy powers to flight. We must make a conscious choice to guard our every word. Only you can decide whose weapon your tongue will be.