We all have a story we tell ourselves internally. This narrative reveals to us who we are, what life
feels and seems like, and what’s become of it currently. The narratives we tell ourselves have so
much power because in a sense it’s a life source we cling to for guidance or clarity. We can be
narrating life or death into our future and current circumstances at this very moment.
(Proverbs 18:21 ESV) reminds us and solidifies this by stating: “Death and life are in the
power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”
So since we know this, why would we want to speak negatively, death upon our or anyone else’s life?
All because we’re speaking to the things that we can see, to things we’re enduring now, and
not to the things that we hope for in the future. Learn from my mistakes. Because our words
can be the very thing keeping us in our hardships. Most importantly, making us blind to what
God possibly could be doing this amidst our trials and struggles.
A year ago, I graduated from college with no job, no income, the constant image of seeing
my peers begin jobs where they always dreamed of, depression, and pain on both sides of my
shoulders straining me. Lastly, a degree in a field opposite to where my heart wanted my career
to be. So to put it frankly I was in a place I never want to be at again in my life. With all of these
obstacles set before me, worries about how to get where I wanted to be, the devil crept in. The devil
used this instance in my life to run amok and I helped him do it. Maybe he has done this in
yours at one point or another and you’ve accidentally helped him too. But I say we don’t have to
help the devil win a battle he’s already lost.
We help the devil when we say we can’t do this or that when this isn’t possible, or say I could
never do or accomplish that” As humans, it’s easy for us to create this pity parade in our heads
due to the feelings we all feel as humans because of whatever harsh situations or unwanted
circumstances we may be enduring. But that’s the human experience, we’re all going or will go
through something at one point or another (Job 14:1). With so many things that may be stacked
against us, it can cause us to take it lying down, but God instructs us otherwise. Romans
4:17 CSB states: “As it is written: I have made you the father of many nations– in the
presence of the God in whom he believed, the one who gives life to the dead and calls things
into existence that do not exist.”
God is telling us to speak life into what we hope for, to how we want situations to turn out for betterment. God has given us that right as His children.
In the midst of my storm after college, I spoke death upon my situations and circumstances, I
believed others doubted me more than what my heart kept telling me. I believed the negative
narrative I was telling myself due to my situation. My heart kept saying “it’s going to happen,
someway, somehow, God will someway do it, I just don’t know how”. And just like that, God
did. God showcased His unfailing grace and mercy by not allowing the death my mouth was
speaking during trying moments amidst that trial to come to fruition. God brought life into my
dead situations and circumstances. A year later, I’m in graduate school on an all-tuition-paid
scholarship and a couple of years away from becoming what I always dreamed of – all due to God
Almighty. He can do the same if not more for you too.
Life will constantly and continually try and bring us down, there’s no question about that. We all
have seasons of life when we face dramatic pauses, where our situations will have us wanting to
speak to the negative narratives we see currently. But I challenge us all to tell a different story,
one filled with us coming out on top because of the God we serve – a story that speaks to our hope and faith, not to the obstacles that are in our faces.
Words of Encouragement: “Words have authority over the things, God has entrusted you to steward.” – Stephanie Ike
