Guide Your Mind-Guard Your Heart-Grace Your Tongueনমুনা

Women who have “mouth disease” and therefore have trouble con­trolling their tongues are common in every generation, and can be found at every juncture of human history. 

Out of her emotional pain, Sarai came up with a human plan for God and for her husband. God had already promised Abram that he would have a child, so perhaps Sarai was just trying to help Him out by controlling her husband’s actions with her words. We can learn from the life of Sarai that God doesn’t need our help or our opinions in order to follow through on His promises. He is quite capable of fulfilling the promises that He has given without our intervention. God fulfills every promise that He makes, and He doesn’t need our human manipulation or control to get the job done!

When a person chooses to speak out of a heart filled with disappoint­ment and pain, words of blame will eventually begin to flow, as well. Sarai was filled with resentment, envy, and regret. The cry of her heart was, Why did I ever suggest that Hagar and Abram make a baby together? What was I thinking? The answer is that Sarai had not been thinking; she had been emoting. Her improper and ungodly emotions had gushed out of her mouth in an effort to manipulate and control. 

Although God restored this situation and gave Abram and Sarai—whose names He changed to Abraham and Sarah to reflect His purposes for them—the baby boy that He had promised to them, this elderly couple still had to digest the fruit of Sarah’s mouth. Abram and Hagar’s son, Ishmael, became the father of the Arab nations, while Isaac, Abraham and Sarah’s son, became the father of Israel. Sarah’s disappointment and verbal control issues have ricocheted through the centuries so that, thousands of years later, society is still dealing with the conun­drum of Ishmael and Isaac. 

The same women who have trouble taming their tongues also have trouble believing the promises of God; if a woman truly locks her life onto the promises of the Father, it is evident in her speech patterns.

Personal Application: What will you do the next time you are tempted to give advice to someone (or to just vent at someone) based on your raw emotions rather than on faith and God’s Word?