How do the words of others affect your life? Probably more than you realize. Negative words spoken to you will create negative thought patterns and the way you feel about yourself.
What God Says About the Mouth
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” (Prov 18:21)
“The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.” – (Prov 15:4)
The Scriptures have a lot to say about what comes out of our mouths. Let’s take a look at the first one I listed. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. That means whatever we speak can produce good or bad.
How powerful is the tongue? Very powerful! In Genesis chapter 1, God created the heavens and the earth by SPEAKING it into existence. God said, “Let there be light.”
People receive healing by prayer, which is simply speaking forth what they want to see. We are not physically entering someone’s body to remove an illness; we pray for healing. In Matthew 9, Jesus spoke to the paralytic, saying, “Get up, take your mat and go home,” – and the man did. On a personal level, I’ve had pain and said, “Get out!” and yes, it has left.
That makes your tongue pretty powerful. But what happens when someone says bad things to you?
The Power of Words by Others
Parents, grandparents, teachers, and others have a significant influence over young people. If they have said that you were stupid, an idiot, wouldn’t amount to anything, lazy, fat, act just like your father or mother (in a bad way), and anything else you want to add to the list, you will have problems.
There comes a point when one of two things usually happens: you will come into agreement with those words and “amount to nothing”, or you will become an overachiever. While becoming an overachiever may seem odd, people who have endured constant put-downs will work extremely hard to avoid being a “loser” and will do anything to avoid criticism. What they are really looking for is approval from those who’ve spoken ill of them and thereby disproving their lies. Often, they will not get the validation they are looking for.
Breaking Free
To break free from these words, you will need to speak and break the agreement with those words. If someone called you stupid, pray the following:
“Lord, I repent for believing the lie that I am stupid. You love me and have given me a sound mind.”
You may also need to forgive the people who’ve said bad things to you.
Look up scriptures that validate who God created you to be. You are made in His image and likeness. He has plans and a purpose for you. Write those scriptures on index cards and speak them daily. It may take time to undo these things, but don’t quit! God has great things for you!
Until next time under the palm, be blessed!
