Christine Wyrtzen Devotional: STINGY WITH WORDS
Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord. Psalm 119:108
People who withhold words can do so to maintain a sense of power over others. They refuse to affirm, to praise, and one never knows where you stand with them. When those people are your parents, it's very unsettling for a child. You grow up unsure of yourself.
Am I stingy with words when I approach God?
When someone loves me, I want to hear all about their love. Why they love, what they like best, when they first loved, how deep their love is. God is no different. May I never just croak out a stingy form of expressed love by joining the crowd in singing, "I Love You, Lord." That doesn't do.
When someone has really hurt me and attempts to offer an apology, I don't want a token "Sorry!" It's important to hear them express what they did, how they feel about the fact that they hurt me. Feelings of remorse should be present if the apology is real. When I go to the altar to deal with my own sin, am I offering a token "Sorry!", or am I willing to tell God what I did and how I feel about offending Him? Am I one who feels brokenhearted over breaking His heart and will I tell Him so?
Hosea is one who encouraged plentiful words. "Take with you words and return to the LORD; say to Him, "Take away all iniquity; accept what is good and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips." Hosea 14:2 If my words are few, I don't have a speech problem but a heart problem. It is the heart which dictates what lips say. If my heart is full, speech flows uninhibited.
I have been in awkward situations. So have you. Words have been stuck in my throat. My heart was in conflict. If I find myself ambivalent about God, feeling loving one moment but untrusting the next, the most important thing I can do is admit it. Pour out words in prayer that speak of my conflict. If I'm just stingy because my heart has grown cold, then I must take myself to the Word and deal quickly with my spiritual condition. The Spirit will show me when my heart died, and why.
Having been someone who lived for long periods of time in wordless places, I know the exhilaration of having a language which bubbles over. My passion for Jesus spills out in words. Teaching, storytelling, pleading, encouraging, praying. God has brought me out of a silent well to a spacious place. The first thing I heard was my own voice.
Whether I weep or sing, my words are poured out toward your gracious heart for me. Amen
1 comment:
Ecclesiastes 5:1-3 (NIV): [Stand in Awe of God] "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words."
Christine Wyrtzen is great - I have to say that up front. I would note that she does say, "Having been someone who lived for long periods of time in wordless places, I know the exhilaration of having a language which bubbles over. My passion for Jesus spills out in words. Teaching, storytelling, pleading, encouraging, praying. God has brought me out of a silent well to a spacious place. The first thing I heard was my own voice.", and I believe that this is why she is a writer, and I am not. God is such an amazing creator, and His variety never ends. He created so many different personality/talent combinations in people. I wholeheartedly agree with Christine that we should express our praise to God, and that we should likewise express to Him the contriteness of our heart when we sin against him. But sometimes I need the Spirit himself to intercede for me with groans that my words just cannot express. Even though Jesus himself is The Word, I don't always use words. I am not a writer. My tendency is to let my words be few. (Except for now!) Have a great day! -pj
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