Prophet’s Reading Plan: Isaiah 52-56
And the fruit of the Spirit is… kindness…
Proverbs 12:25 (NIV) An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.
We
are often so absorbed with our own lives and our own problems that we don’t
even stop to think that others have issues, too. What if you were in the mall
food court and yelled “Everybody STOP!”? What if you asked everyone in the area
to tell of the hardest thing they were currently going through? Imagine the
things you would hear! Deaths in the family, suicidal thoughts, troubles at work,
marriages falling apart, abuse, loneliness, etc. To think that every person you
walk by in a day has a story of their own and a closet full of secrets.
This
world needs kindness. This world needs people who genuinely care for others. So
many people are living in total anxiety and their hearts are burdened. One word
– one compliment, one encouragement, one comment – can cheer a person and lift
their spirits. One word can also do the opposite. Words are wonderful and
powerful, as James warns in his letter. The tongue is the body’s most dangerous
weapon. But it can also do a world of good. We use our words so flippantly, but
imagine if we could become utterly intentional in everything we say. What if
our goal was to use this little thing – the tongue – for the glory of God all
the time? There was a man who wrote about a challenge he gave himself, a
challenge to think about Jesus all the time. And after months of trying, he
felt he almost accomplished it! What if we were to challenge ourselves to speak
to the glory of God all the time – not to speak about Him all the time, but to speak to His glory, to build people
up and refuse to gossip? Let us seek to use our words to build the kingdom!
PRAYER AND
MEDITATION
1. Spend some time in
confession, telling God of the ways you’ve used your words to tear down and
bring trouble.
2. Ask God for a personal
challenge for you today in response to this devotional. How does God want to
challenge you in the area of your speech?
3. Ask God to open your
eyes to other people today. Spend time praying and asking God to give you a
genuine interest in others. Ask Him to help you see people and to love them and
to want to help them to know His love.
