TeaTime Devotional July 31st, 2025

Written By: Nancy Jordan

Scripture: Proverbs 18:21

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit."                                                                                            

Testify:

Have you ever heard the saying, "Be careful of what you ask for, you just might get it?" Or "Stop speaking things into existence?" These statements are factual and have great meaning.  Let’s put this in context, you wake up and decide that you don't want to go to work. So, you tell a white lie, I’m sick and not feeling well, or my car won't start.  News flash!!!!  A lie is a lie, and there's no color to it.  So, calling out sick, and telling your employer these outlandish stories need to cease! Another example is, when someone ask you to borrow some money, and your reply is, " I don't have any money, I'm broke."  Well guess what?  You just cursed yourself to be broke and are in the same predicament as the person who is asking for the loan. Both Deuteronomy 15:6, and 28:12 reference us to being the "Lender not a Borrower." The only thing you are doing is speaking negativity over your life. In Romans 4:17 the phrase, "speak those things that are not as though they were" refers to the concept of faith-filled declaration.  Where one speaks of desired outcomes as if they have already manifested.  

Edify:

This scripture highlights the profound impact of our words and emphasizing that they can bring about both positive and negative consequences. The choice of words that we speak on a daily basis, can either build up and encourage one's life or tear down and discourage. Words are not just empty sounds; they carry weight and can have lasting effects on us and others. We have the power to think and choose what we say, before saying it.  By doing so, we choose the consequences that will follow. The scripture also implies that we should be mindful of our words that we use about ourselves, as they can shape our own-perception and future.

Apply:   

Proverbs 18:21 encourages us to be conscious of the power of our words, and to use them responsibly, aiming to speak life and positivity, encouragement, and truth.