To Encourage You

2 Corinthians 4:13 “I believed, and so I spoke.”

Our words reveal the truth about our faith.  Put another way, it’s not what we say about our faith that matters, but how our faith influences what we say about everything else.  In James 2:18, James puts it this way: “But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”  By this James is telling us that although someone may claim to have great faith, it is what they “say” with their lives that reveals the truth.   For example, if we say that we have placed our faith in Christ, do we live like He is indeed our Lord? Do we obey Him?  Do we really believe that He is watching us?  Is that what other people see when they watch us?  Do our words demonstrate anxiety and fear when things trouble us, or do our words reflect trust in the God in Whom we say we trust?  Do our words and actions tell others that we walk by sight or that we walk by faith?  Do we really believe that those without Christ are lost and that they are headed for an eternity in hell if they don’t believe? Do our words reflect this?  Are we sharing the gospel with those we say we love and care about?  Does our speech reflect the attitudes of the world around us, a world that is opposed to Christ, or is God’s Word on the tip of our tongue for it is what we really believe that will spill from our lips?  As Jesus said, it is “out of the abundance of the heart (our) mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).  Do our words reflect a heart filled with trust of a God that though we can’t see, we believe, or something else that reflects anything but? 

May God help us to examine our own words and actions, for it is with these things we really “say” what we believe.