Life or Death?

"A man's stomach shall be satisfied by the fruit of his mouth, from the produce of his lips he shall be filled." Proverbs 18:20
The scriptures go on to say in Proverbs 18:21 "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit."

What does this mean exactly? It means that a person's life will reflect the fruit of their tongue, or the words that come out of their mouth. God is saying in these scriptures to speak life over our lives and our situations. To speak life is to declare God's perspective and His written word on any issue in our life. To speak death is to speak and declare life's negatives, speak defeat in our lives or even complain constantly. Did you know that complaining is negative in God's eyes?

How do we declare God's perspective over our lives? We must start with His word. We have to read His word and find out what He has to say about our life and our struggles then we can believe His concrete word that never changes. Once we believe in our heart that what God says is truth we can speak it and declare it with our mouth; for the word also says that out of the abundance (or the overflow) of the heart the mouth will speak. If we have negativity, bitterness and pride overflowing our heart that's what will spill out of our mouth. But if our heart is filled with God's truth, His love and His word of power then life will spill out of our mouth and run over all our obstacles.

Many of us are in situations that seem unbearable or you may even feel like you already have a "death sentence" because of what you're going through and you don't see how your life could possibly change for the better when you're headed towards utter darkness. You might be going through a divorce and can't imagine life being positive anymore. Or an illness may have taken over you that wasn't expected and the reports aren't exactly speaking "life." Maybe your child or loved one has chosen a way of living that is destructive and it seems impossible that they would ever change their ways and begin to follow God's truth rather than the enemy's lies. However; in the midst of darkness, there is always a light...God's word IS that light and it's available to you to believe and trust; to speak and to declare.

The book of James gives a great visual about our tongue. James 3:4-5 "Look at the ships, although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a small member and boasts great things. See how but a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire!" Sometimes our "ship" doesn't seem to be sailing in the right direction according to God's word. But our tongue has the power of life or death over our circumstances and if we speak God's word, His truth into our lives we can turn our ship around no matter how strong the winds blow.

Today God spoke this to me as a reminder that life and death are mine to choose, but He gently reminds me "Choose life my child, choose life." So today, though it is obvious that you are struggling you can still choose life. Speak and declare God's word over your situation.

To the divorced and widowed and brokenhearted the word says God sets the lonely in families, he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. Psalm 68:6. The Lord says I will never leave you or abandon you, never will I forsake you. So we can say with boldness "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear, for what can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:5. Psalm 147:3 says "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

To the sick and weak the Lord says "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement for our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:4-5. And because of this I can declare that I am healed and made whole. Romans 8:11 "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." 2 Corinthians 12:9 "And he said to me 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly will I boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

For those lost and gone astray pray and declare protection over them till the day their heart decides to return to God. "No weapon formed against them shall prosper" Isaiah 54:17. Pray the Lord will hide them in His shadow and send angels to guard and protect. That no harm would come near them. (Psalm 91)

The bible has lots to say about our lives and it's always in due season. God has challenged me today to continue to seek who He is and what He has said in order to overcome the struggles of my life. I encourage you to do the same. God has set before us life and death...choose life my friend, and start sailing in God's direction.