The Right Words
by Tanya Person
So often in my life I have said the wrong thing at the wrong time and then replayed it over and over in my head, asking myself, “Why did I say that?” Over the years, God has been teaching me how to tame my tongue. As a teenager, the best discipline I received from my dad was the instruction to do a study through the scriptures about taming the tongue. As I finished my study, I was weeping as the Holy Spirit was bringing conviction to me. Finally, I have learned to make Jesus Lord over my tongue, so that I would say what is pleasing to him. I am still far from perfect in this area, but I am seeing an improvement.
The other day in my quiet time, God highlighted the above scripture to me. I made a note of it and set it aside to come back to later. Two days later, I was praying about my day ahead and God reminded me to pray that my words would be pleasing to Him and that I would have the right words to say. I met with different people throughout the day, and it was a good day. At the end of my time with one of my friends, she blessed me by saying that I always speak gems of wisdom when I am with her which she remembers for a long time. Her words encouraged me so much! God is redeeming my tongue!
The next day in my quiet time, I pulled open my notes to see which scripture I had put there to meditate on and was blown away by how well it went with what I had just experienced! I had just been encouraged by my friend that I spoke the right words at the right time, and it was wonderful! I know that it is not me and my wisdom, rather by yielding to Jesus to be Lord of my tongue, the Holy Spirit was able to use it to bring the right words at the right time.
Are you like me, wishing to experience the joy of speaking the right words at the right time and beating yourself up for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time? Repent and receive God’s forgiveness. Ask Him to be Lord of your tongue and let Him fill your mouth with the right words.
Tanya Person Tanya and her husband, Jim, were missionaries to Hungary for over 18 years. They have worked with Ellel since 2005. After serving in various positions with Ellel in Central and Eastern Europe, God led them back to the United States, where they are now serving with the Ellel USA team. They have a passion to see leaders restored, the church discipled and walking in God’s fullness of life and freedom, and for mentoring the existing and developing team. Tanya also enjoys crocheting and knitting in her free time and has written some children’s picture books.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
