30 Days of Truth

Day 24 – words shape our destiny

Many Christians and even non-Christians are coming to the realization that our words shape our lives and our destiny more than we ever thought possible.

When God gave us the ability to “speak”, He gave us the ability to create. He spoke everything into existence.

Our ability to create with our voice is not limited to the physical realm, but it enables us to create in the spiritual realm as well.

English is one of the most commonly spoken languages on Earth.

Yet many of us fail to realize that conversational and cultural usage of the English language has picked up many negative terms and phrases along the way.

So much negativity has been introduced into our everyday use of English that some of us speak negativity all the time without even realizing it.

Here are some examples of negative phrases we use:

“I’m afraid…”

Have you ever been waiting on hold when calling a company and they said, “I’m afraid all the operators are busy”?

Admitting that you are afraid can be considered a strength, but we overuse this term so much, that we have convinced ourselves that the word has no serious meaning anymore. That simply isn’t true.

The Devil wants us to be afraid because in fear, faith cannot function.

“I’m afraid it won’t…”

Adding “it won’t” or “it can’t” to “I’m afraid” is even worse than using “I’m afraid” by itself because now you have taken a generally negative statement and have specifically attached it to a situation that you are facing. You are not only stating that you are “afraid”, but now you are admitting unbelief.

How can your faith work?

“I fear…”

This one is used less commonly, but it is no better than “I’m afraid”.

“I don’t think…”

Does what you “think” change the truth of God’s Word?

Does it change the facts, or does it only affect how you interpret truth?

We don’t always think correctly, and we don’t always think truthfully, but God’s promises are true and He is always faithful, even when we “don’t think” we are good enough or that He will be faithful to us.

“There is no way…”

If you really believe there is “no way”, then there may not be.

We should always be willing to accept alternatives and believe that we could be wrong.

We don’t always see every angle of a situation, and there may be other options that we haven’t considered or refuse to consider out of arrogance or pride.

“I’ll never…”

You should never say “you’ll never”. There is always a chance you will…

This is especially true in matters of sin. Self-condemnation comes when we say we’ll never sin and then we inevitably give into it again.

“I can’t…”

The Bible says that you can do all things through Christ!

There is no “I can’t” in a believer’s vocabulary.

“I don’t believe…”

“I can’t believe…”

These are some of the most dangerous and damaging statements that a believer can make. You are canceling your faith out with these statements of unbelief.

When we use these kinds of statements, we are watering down their meanings in our minds.

We become accustomed to negativity, and we lose sight of the truth.

Practice avoiding these statements, and if you must use one, make sure you are using it in the proper context, without negating your faith and belief in the matter.

Sometimes, when these statements are all that we can say in a particular situation, it is better to just remain silent. Death and life is in the power of our tongue.