God has been dealing with me. Over the past few months or so I feel like I’ve been stagnant in my faith. Almost like a dry season. No fire…no oil…and not growing to the next level spiritually. Yes I prayed and worshipped my Heavenly Father, but something still felt off. I must admit, I haven’t felt fruitful in my walk like I should’ve been. I kept procrastinating in my ministry in writing, I was having trouble reading my word and spending quality time with the Lord. Maybe I was too distracted by the cares of life? Or maybe it was something much deeper where I have allowed the enemy to creep in, maybe through a spiritual doorway I myself opened up for him. Thinking back on the word of God, I know that when a person is living in sin, the devil has legal right to cause confusion and to ultimately destroy a person, their destiny, and their relationship with God (The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy John 10:10). Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians to give no place to the devil. So, I begun to think about what I could’ve done to run into this dry season in my life. What sins have I committed that went unrepentant?
Sadly it’s a sin that a lot of people that are in the body of Christ are guilty of and the sin is gossip. The bible tells us not to let corrupt communication come from our mouths (Eph 4:29). Gossiping is a form of corrupt communication. Some people may feel as though it isn’t harmless. Have you heard someone say or thought to yourself “Well I’m not hurting them just venting about them…I am just telling it like it is…I’m keeping it real or just stating the facts”. These are all excuses to partake in gossip. And these excuses are not even true! You may not be physically hurting the person with your words but you are hurting that person’s character or reputation. You claim you are just venting but instead of venting about someone to another person, you should go talk to your Father about it and ask Him how you should handle the situation. After that, then you can respectfully address the issue to the person to make peace. Your “venting” can easily turn into slandering. Also, the facts you claim you are stating are probably not even true and even if they are, you shouldn’t be going around spreading other people’s business around. The word tells us that blessings and cursing shouldn’t come from the same mouth, How can we bless God out of the same mouth we speak ill of a fellow brother or sister? As a child of God I must not entertain it on tv, social media, nor in my daily conversations. I’ve been in repentance and still find my self repenting. I’ve been asking God to forgive me for being involved in it, even in the times I was just listening, I am still playing a role by giving an ear it. In Proverbs 20:19 it tells us not to even associate with a simple babbler. I must be careful of what comes out of my mouth and what also goes into my ears.
“Set a guard over my mouth, Lord keep watch over the door of my lips” Psalms 141:3. What comes out of the mouth matters, for in the tongue lies the power to build up or to tare down. To speak life and to speak blessings, to speak curses and death. It is vital that my words are reflecting the love of Jesus, filled with virtue, grace, and edifying to the listeners.
Gossip is toxic. It can effect those nearby who may not even be in the conversation. It stirs up discord and causes division. Name calling and talking about someone’s shortcomings, current sins, mistakes, appearances, and personal secretes will only tare down the individual. Weather they are well-known or not, I pray the Lord will help me to me to shut down gossip and to turn the conversation around to lift up the person instead. I guess one of the ways would be praying for a person, not talking about them. As children of God we must be at peace with all men. I find it interesting that something the world may deem as small, Yahweh takes seriously. The enemy can use a “small” sin, like gossip (which there is no such thing, sin is sin) to cause a great hindrance in my spiritual well-being. I thank the Lord for showing me this. I openly repent of this for ignoring the Holy Spirit when I was prompted to reject the gossip, but yet still let it corrupt me, even if it was from someone else’s mouth. I thank God, He is so full of mercy and grace. With all this being said, I pray is this entry inspired you to think of some ways the enemy may have used to creep into your life. It may not be through gossip like me, it could be through bitterness, fear, offense , unforgiveness, addiction, envy or sexual immorality…the list could go on. If its unclear, ask the Lord to show you and He will. As we surrender to God our obedience then is able to fully work in us and for us to access abundant life. But most of all He will be pleased.
*Thank you for taking your time into reading this post. I pray it blessed you. I’d love to hear your feedback! Rate and share any comments you may have regarding this entry. Please share this blog! Don’t forget to subscribe below 😊
What a powerful blog and so relatable to how the enemy tries to get in believers lives. Thank you for being honest and bringing it all back to the Word and renewing our mind.
Reba
Hi Reba! Thank you for reading this blog today and I really felt lead to discuss this particular topic
Taming the tongue for me has been a journey God has truly changed my mind set on how I precive certain conversations.I Learned if you talk right do right act right Right will follow .You have to be a willing vessel That’s the start .May God continue to use you to uplift,inspire,teach HIS PEOPLE ..