The Power of Speaking Life
The bleary eyed boy pushed on the handle and peered through the gap in the door. He prayed no one else was there to see his red and puffy eyes, the leftover residue from the night’s events. He tried to slip in quietly but both camp counselors saw him. “What’s wrong? Are you ok? What happened? Did someone hurt you?” He didn’t want to talk about it. They pressed for more but his lips were sealed. He couldn’t bring himself to say it because he didn’t have the words. He was simply overwhelmed with joy.
That night’s teaching session included a circle of encouragement, where each member of the group took time to say at least one encouraging thing to the person on the ‘hot seat’ in the middle. That is no small challenge for fifth grade boys! He left that group overwhelmed by what a gift of love that was, to have your peers, some of whom he assumed hated him, to have them take just a moment to invest and give life through their words.
This week we talked about moving forward as a church, after traumatic events in the community, we prayed for peace in our city, for God to move in the hearts of those that are seeking to do harm to others. Those are big prayers that require big change in many areas that are beyond our control. What we can control though are the words we use in our homes, with our friends, with our loved ones, and with ourselves, to bring about peace. We bring peace to a city one person at a time, one conversation at a time, one word at a time. Think of a time someone spoke life into you because they chose words of peace in a moment of need? Those are the kind of people I love to be around.
As I type this I’m sitting on the back deck of a friend’s house who has been speaking life into me for years and years. He came alongside me at a low point in my life about ten years ago and really helped reshape my thinking in some key areas. He’s always speaking life and sharing life-giving Scripture every time I’m around him. I try to get around him as much as I can so that some of that will rub off on me!
So as you think of your interactions this week, pray that God would give you an opportunity to be a peacemaker (Matthew 5:9), an encourager (Hebrews 10:24-25), a life giver (John 7:38), and one who builds up and edifies (Eph 4:29). And if you are in a season where you need to be loved on through the words of others, then do what you can to get time with those life-giving people you know, especially those that pour out the life-giving words of Scripture.
It’s through speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) that God will use our church to be a part of bringing true peace to our city, particularly to our neighborhoods, like PRP, Valley Station, and all over Southwest Louisville. That young boy who was loved on by his peers at a kid’s camp in the 80s, that same boy is still being built up and encouraged at the same church by some of the same people today, and I’m so ever grateful for Valley View!