Today’s Reading, Psalms 17-20
Focal Scripture: Psalms 19:14 “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.”
Have you ever thought about something or said something that was not appropriate? If we are being honest with ourselves we all have done this at some point. Maybe you said something that was very mean or hurtful to another person. Perhaps you thought about the person who annoys you the most and hoped that their AC would break in July in south GA. No matter what it is your thinking and your words were not God honoring.
In today’s reading we catch up on the writing of David. He acknowledges that he desires for the words he speaks and the thinking of his heart be acceptable to God. Examining this phrasing, David knew that God was paying attention to everything he said and thought. His desire was not to please man but to please God. He acknowledges that God is his rock, an immovable and secure deity. David also says that God is his redeemer. This means a person who saves and brings people to a good place. If anyone understood this truth it was David.
The application for us as Christians is very straightforward. What we say and how we say it matters to God and it should matter to us as well. I have been around to many people who excuse their speech especially when they are talking about others. They use phrases like “this is just the way I am.” or “I’m just being honest.” One I hear very often is “Not trying to be mean but …” and then they go on to hurt others verbally. As believers our speech should be different. When people speak with us they should be drawn to Christ. Our speech should be a witness. It should push people to be followers of Christ and not repel them.
The other area that believers need to be aware of is their thought life and what they mediate on daily. Whatever we think about the most is what we worship. It doesn’t mean we can’t think about others or even our goals and ambitions. What it does mean is that our hearts must be God focused.
I challenge you and even myself to be good stewards with what we think about and what we say. We should never live or behave in such a way that is unacceptable to the Lord. The only way we can do this is by being people who understand we represent God. To understand our speech and thought life influence our decisions and others around us, daily.
Submit it all to the Lord and let us live and think differently.
Tomorrow, I plan on reading Psalms 21-25
