Not too often is having seven kids the similarity you share with someone. But Sarah Molitor and I had an instant bond because of it. Pair that with raising our kids to love Jesus and His Word, and you’ve got yourself a great combo. With that many children, your home is filled daily with a lot of words and noise. Sarah’s goal is to encourage women to not just add to the noise but to change the atmosphere around them by choosing to speak life over everything. That’s something I’m so all in with. It won’t always be perfect, but with God’s help we can do it! It is a joy to welcome Sarah to the farm’s front porch.
Guest Post by Sarah Molitor
You haven’t lost your joy, nor have you lost the giftings God has given you… You just seem to have lost your footing a bit.
At twenty, I sat in our pastors’ office, saying something like “I’ve lost my joy, and I feel aimless. I feel like I can’t speak genuinely to others or encourage them in the way I was able to in the past.”
My pastor’s reply has really stuck with me. “You haven’t lost your joy, nor have you lost the giftings God has given you in the area of communication. You just seem to have lost your footing a bit.
So here are some questions to think on: Have you been willing to let the Lord guide you in all areas regarding His plan for your life? Are you honoring Him with your choices, your words, and how you spend your time? Have you been consistent in your Bible reading?”
These questions were easy to answer: no, no, and no.
How I chose to spend my time and use my voice wasn’t what God would have chosen for me. I knew that. It was more what I had chosen for myself. As a result, many of the giftings I knew I had were lying dormant and unused. I had been giving so much space to my feelings and words that I hadn’t given any to God’s Word.
If I wanted to rediscover what God had for me and how to continue honoring Him with the giftings He had given me, I needed to stand on solid ground—so I needed something solid to stand on.
“If you believe the Word of God to be true, then having His Word in your heart will only enhance the words you speak.”
If you believe the Word of God to be true, then having His Word in your heart will only enhance the words you speak.
There is a direct correlation between our hearts and our minds. In Matthew 12, when Jesus had just healed a demon-possessed man, some Pharisees accused Him of getting his power from Satan. Jesus knew their thoughts and said, “A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. . . . For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. . . . A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you” (verses 33-37).
Wow! Thank you, Lord, that You give us Your Word to teach us how to best use ours.
My sweet friends, knowing God’s Word is the beginning of using our words intentionally. The Bible equips us with everything we need to use our words wisely. If you aren’t sure where to start on this journey, start in the Word!
“However you can, and whenever you can, memorize God’s Word.”
Recently, my extended family took a vacation to Mexico. Months beforehand, my parents issued a challenge to their grandchildren: anyone who memorized Psalm 91 and recited it in Mexico would earn twenty-five dollars. Talk about motivation. Over the next two months, the boys and I spent each day memorizing a new line or two (although, somehow, I didn’t qualify for the spending money—rats!).
After that vacation, we were dealing with some respiratory issues with our then-eight-month-old. One particularly difficult night, I felt like I had prayed all the prayers and cried all the tears. Then something happened. Slowly but surely, as I rocked and swayed our little one in the dark of the night, I began repeating the verses I knew. Then I began to replace some words with Griffy’s name to pray over him:
“He will rescue Griffy from every trap and protect Griffy from deadly disease. He will cover Griffy with his feathers. He will shelter Griffy with his wings. His faithful promises are Griffy’s armor and protection.” Even as I write this out, my body is covered in goose bumps at the power of God’s Word. The more I recited the verses, the more strength came to my spirit and the more peace I felt flooding my soul.
“Knowing God’s Word not only transforms our words—it transforms our whole life!“
It took months to memorize that chapter, and I thought I was doing it to help my boys. But God! His Word had been settling into my heart, and I needed it that night. I always will, but sometimes it speaks to me more and gives me words when I don’t have them. However you can, and whenever you can, memorize God’s Word. I’m not perfect at this, and I have to continually work at it. But remember my favorite saying? Forward progress is progress.
Here are some ideas to start (or freshen up your skills) with: use flash cards and take them with you to look at and memorize, highlight the passage in your Bible, put it to a song or a rap, or memorize one line per day.
Knowing God’s Word not only transforms our words—it transforms our whole life!
{ Our humble thanks to Tyndale Momentum for their partnership in today’s devotional.}
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January 15, 2024 at 11:10AM
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How God’s Word Can Transform Our Words And The Lasting Impact of Memorizing Scripture - Ann Voskamp
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