The Power of Words
By Abbie (15)
‘You would look so much better if you lost a lot of weight. No offense, though.’ This was said to me by someone who I considered to be my best friend.
‘You know that everyone actually hates you, right? No one likes you; they’re just nice to your face.’ A close friend said this to me, and for a long time words like these affected me.
I became extremely self-conscious. I constantly tried to please those around me, and I worried what my peers thought of me. Because of this, I was filled with anxiety. I was always overthinking everything – dissecting my appearance, my decisions, my life. The hurtful words of others continuously replayed over and over in my head until they got stuck there. These words determined my worth. They became my words. They became my truth. This made living day-to-day difficult. Each day I put on a mask of false joy and confidence, so no one would know what was really going on. Very quickly, every day became exhausting, until one night it all became too much.
I cried out to God.
I asked Him to fill me with His love and reveal to me my worth and who I am in Him. And God overwhelmed me with His Holy Spirit. I was filled with His love. God revealed to me the identity I had in Him, and that night was the first time I got a sense of who I really was. The Lord rewrote my truth. He restored my joy, my confidence, and my passion for life.
I am still on this journey, but He has transformed my life. I know who I am in God, and other people’s words and opinions do not change that. They do not change my worth or the way that God sees me.
God has also helped me on this journey by giving me opportunities to use my words in a powerful way to help others. I started to see the impact that positive words can have on those around me. I remember walking into the school bathroom, and a girl looked like she was about to burst into tears. She had makeup in her hands and was trying to cover up her acne. I asked her if she was alright. She told me that she hated her skin and her face. This nearly brought me to tears because in that moment I saw so much of my previous self in her. I gave her a hug and told her that her face and skin were perfect and that she was beautiful. She thanked me and told me I had made her day.
Seeing the positive impact that my words could have on other people, and the encouragement that God could bring to others through me, made my day too. God was working, even in a small encounter such as this.
In God, we are set free. We are set free from the weight of the words that try to tear us down. God calls you His perfect creation, His chosen child, His precious daughter. Your value is infinite, and you are loved beyond measure.
Our words hold so much power. The words we speak over ourselves and others have so much impact. Our words have the ability to nourish. Our words have the ability to destroy. Our words have the ability to change the world.
‘Your own soul is nourished when you are kind, but you destroy yourself when you are cruel.’
Proverbs 11:17 (NIV)
PROMPT: Are you speaking words of life over yourself? Pray and ask the Father to help you speak only words that bring life to yourself and others. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you someone who needs a word of encouragement today. Who is He laying on your heart?
PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for Your love. Thank you that You erase the lies that we believe about ourselves and replace them with Your truth. Lord, help me to see myself the way You see me. Help me to speak words over myself and those around me that bring life and encouragement. I pray for an opportunity to see how my words can have a positive impact on those around me, no matter how big or small it may be.
