Speak Truth
What truths do you need to be saying to yourself?
Verse of the Day
“So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?””
Today’s Devotional
(This is a repeat post from March. It fits with the theme of truth. We will pick back up with Jesus and truth as soon as possible.)
What kinds of things do you say with confidence? My list of confident utterings might include: “I deeply love and admire my husband”, “I need Mexican food to really thrive in life” and “Football season makes me very happy”. There are other things I am confident in that I probably don’t talk about much, like the value of family and community, the importance of tithing and the healing power of laughter.
This verse says that we are to declare these three things with confidence:
- The Lord is my helper.
- I will not be afraid.
- What can humans do to me?
There are times in our lives when declaring truth over ourselves might be more important than other times. We must be incredibly diligent in speaking truth during difficult times. We must declare with confidence, just like this verse says.
How often do you speak out loud the things that you need your mind and heart to grasp? Proverbs 18:21 says “the tongue can bring life or death”. So I can speak truth or difficulty over my life. How often are we guilty of saying, “I am so stressed” which only makes us more stressed. On the other hand, I could choose to say “I am feeling overwhelmed but I know God will help me and that he will give me the strength I need.” (Side note: I believe this also includes our thoughts. We can THINK truth or difficulty into our lives.)
Are you confident that the Lord is your helper? I am. I can say without a doubt that the Lord helped me get to where I am today. That is miraculous, based on where I have been, and I am confident that the Lord was and is the strength behind that miracle. I do believe that there is a mistake that we all make from time to time. Sometimes we think that the Lord will help us achieve our own will. But God loves us too much for that. The Lord helps us to finally come around to his will. And to be completely candid, I still forget that the Lord is my helper. Declaring it out loud helps me to remember more than I forget, especially when life gets challenging.
Are you confident that you do not ever need to be afraid? This one is harder. Fear is such a natural reaction and instinct. We are wired for survival, and if anything threatens that, real or perceived, we get scared. I think that is why this verse is telling us to speak away our fear. “I WILL NOT BE AFRAID!” I may have to say it hundreds of times a day during difficult times, but maybe that will help me to remember that it really is true.
Are you confident that nothing this world and its people do to you can ultimately affect your destiny? People can hurt us, in physical, financial, and emotional ways. But they cannot affect my ultimate destination in heaven. Hopefully, when we are hurt, we will speak out this truth and it will drive us into the arms of God. Picture a child who has skinned her knee. It hurts. But her response is generally to run into the arms of her closest parent. That should be our response to the harmful actions of other humans, to run straight into the arms of our Father.
As we wait, let’s practice what this verse tells us to do. It might feel silly. That’s ok. I’m not suggesting that you declare these truths over yourself out loud while you are standing in line at the pharmacy. That would definitely be weird. That’s why God gives us common sense. But what about in the car? Or during your morning time with God? Or on a walk? Are you willing to obey this verse?
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
In what are you confident?
Are you comfortable speaking God’s truth over your life out loud? Why or why not?
What does “the tongue can bring life or death” mean to you?
Write and speak God’s truth over your day today.
What things do you need to stop saying to yourself? Write them down today so that you can catch yourself each time you say or think those things. Then you can redirect yourself to the three truths in today’s verse.
How can declaring God’s truth over yourself help you?