December 30-Listening to My Words

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon. “For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart.” —Matthew 12:34 What fills our hearts? If we’re not sure, we can find out by checking out our words. What do we talk about? What attitudes come out in our words? That’s what we hold in our hearts. Do we often speak about the lasting things that are important in the kingdom of God, or do we only talk of worldly things? Is the attitude of our speech peace, love, and the other fruits of the Spirit or is it anger, complaint, discontentment, unforgiveness, or bitterness? If we look at our words and are disappointed by what they reveal about our spirit, it just means we have some heart–change to work on. Many of us try to change only our outward actions. That’s a place to start, and to some extent, we can use willpower to moderate what comes out of our mouths, but what’s truly in us will still emerge in times of stress, fear, or anger. To change from the inside out, we need to work on our hearts and minds and let the Lord work on our spirits. We do this by taking time to sit with him, praying and meditating on his Word, and living by the truths we say we believe. We need to resist temptation, the lies of the devil, and worldly mindsets. The more we follow the Lord, the more readily we hear his voice (James 4:7–8). We can store up verses to train our hearts and minds to dwell on biblical truth and goodness when our attitude strays back to fear, anger, or insecurity (Philippians 4:8). With time, obedience, and intention, the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2) will bring about the transformation of our hearts and words. The post December 30-Listening to My Words appeared first on C. E. White.