The potency of speech

Words have power. Have you noticed?

Of course you have. Because someone once said something to you that had a profound effect on you. You were hurting, feeling lonely, bruised – and someone spoke one of those ‘words in season’ that healed. Or, maybe, you were in a season of sin: proud, arrogant, unrepentant – and someone spoke a timely word that came with the power of conviction and caused you to turn back to God.

We’ve all had those kinds of experiences. We’ve also all had negative ones, when the words spoken to us (or even by us) caused hurt and pain or pushed people into sin, perhaps provoking an ungodly response that could have been avoided if only we had thought more carefully. Words have power.