The Value of Words

Over the past few weeks I’ve caught two people lying to me.  In both instances they’ve lied about inconsequential things.  One told me they were married when they are actually getting married next month.  The other told me they by chance ran into someone, but I know they actually had plans with this person.

It makes me wonder why lie about a fact that is so inconsequential.  Why tell me you’re married when you’re not yet?  Why tell me that you by chance ran into someone when you actually had plans with them?  I don’t get the purpose of the lie. 

The truth is we all lie at some point in our lives.  Most of the time I lie because I’m trying to make myself look better.  I left late and tell people “traffic was horrible”.  I’m lying because I think it makes me look better because it’s not me just being late.  I also lie because I don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings.  “No that dress looks amazing on you.” 

Even these “little, white lies” impact the value of my words.  If I tell someone a dress looks amazing on them and really another style is flattering, will they trust my answers going forward?  If I use the traffic excuse and I’m late every time, people will know I’m lying eventually!

These lies that I’ve heard may be over inconsequential facts, but they make me question everything these people have ever told me.  If they can so easily lie about little things, what big things are they lying about?  I no longer trust them. 

Then I begin to wonder how many people don’t trust me.  How many times have I been caught in a “little, white lie”?  How many times have I promised to do something and don’t follow through?  Isn’t that the same as lying?

God brings me to this verse:

Matthew 5:37 “All you need to say is simply ‘yes’ or ‘no’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”

Usually this verse is used when people promise or swear an oath, but I really believe it’s more than that.  It goes down to the intention of my heart behind the words I speak.  Do I promise something knowing that I have no intention of ever doing that?  Do I tell a lie because my intention is to never look bad? 

God gently tells me that by doing this, it’s for the evil one.  If my words have no value, it’s because I’ve given into the evil one’s temptation.  Trust is a beautiful, precious gift.  It grieves me that I may have lost trust because of my choices and it grieves me that it is lost because of other’s choices. 

Our words are a window to our intentions.  Our intentions are the mirror of our hearts.  I challenge you to ask yourself:  what words are coming out of my heart?

That question has convicted me this week.  I praise God for that.  The more we shine His Light into our sin, the less that sin has any power over us. 

The Puzzle Piece

Have you ever done a 1,000 piece puzzle?  The pieces are small and sometimes you’re looking for a small dot of color to know that piece connects to the one in your hand.  With a puzzle that large, you rely on the picture to know where the pieces go.    

Five weeks ago I was a pitiful mess.  I was depressed, overwhelmed, burdened, and completely hopeless.  To be candid, I actually had thoughts that everyone would be better off without me.  Those thoughts weren’t to the point of suicide, but they were thoughts of destruction. 

It took a business trip, far away and completely alone in an unknown place for me to hear the gentle whisper of God.  As I stood in the tall Redwoods and on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, I heard God so very clearly.  I cried out to Jehovah Rapha for healing from my unbelief. 

I came back home with hope.  After spending two weeks in repentance and prayer, God spoke to me.  Often times I have this mental image that life is a puzzle that only God can see the picture of.  I’m staring down at all the pieces, trying to know what picture I’m creating. 

In three days God walked beside me and showed me what I needed to connect this small piece of the puzzle to the next.  While I still have no idea what the puzzle looks like when finished, I know He’s connected two of the pieces together.

Here’s the best part.  I still have the exact same stressors.  I still have the same busy schedule.  I still have all the same things in my life that can make that overwhelmed feeling crash down on me.  Yet, my life isn’t the same.  I now know that I struggle with unbelief.  I struggle with my human nature that needs to know the finished puzzle picture before I start on the piecing. 

It is the realization of my unbelief that has changed my life.  We serve a God who can speak 4 words and create light out of nothing.  We serve a God who can be in two places at once and know everything that is going on in both places at all times.  We serve a God who knows the numbers of hairs on my head and holds my tears in His hands.  We serve a God who can raise people from the dead.  We serve a God who can feed thousands with just a few fish and a couple loaves of bread.  We serve a God who created me in His image and loves me so much He sacrificed His son for me.  We know a God who knows the intentions of my heart and still shows me His grace and mercy.  We serve the God who is the Most High God.  Nothing and no one is greater or more powerful than our God.

Yet, there are times I don’t believe He would use that power in my life.   Slowly, ever so slowly, God is showing me just how deep my unbelief is.  He absolutely would and does use His power in my life.  It is my own unbelief that keeps my eyes from seeing.  I praise Jehovah Rapha for His healing.  My eyes are being cleared and my El Elyon (the Most High God) is smiling down, guiding me as He creates my life’s puzzle.