The Beach Is Calling: A 10 Day Plan for Rest and RelaxationSample

The Power to Refresh in the Words We Choose

What joy! May we be refreshed as by streams in the desert. PSALM 126:3-4 TLB

Have you ever noticed all the people who read at the beach? Sitting comfortably under a colorful umbrella, they quietly enjoy a well-written story or a book filled with words of motivation, information, or revelation. Words are powerful. They can lift us out of a sad place or take us to one. They can encourage us to be better, or they can discourage us from trying.

God has given us the best life manual, the greatest love story, and the most encouraging words we’ll ever find in one book. If our hearts need real refreshing, God’s Word is where we go. It’s a lot easier to choose the words we read than it is to control the words we speak. They can come out too quickly and with too little thought when we’re angry. They can be contrary to what God says about us when we feel insecure. They can be disrespectful when we gossip, and they can be critical when we forget God has called us to love people, not to judge them. Proverbs 16:24 says, “Kind words are like honey—enjoyable and healthful.”

Words affect health, both ours and the people who hear them. One translation says that pleasant words sweeten the soul and give health to our bones. Spoken words have a deep and lasting effect. They can be life-giving or they can make life harder to live, and isn’t it hard enough already? What would happen if we all chose words that are as refreshing as streams in the desert. Words that fill souls with joy and hearts with hope. By taking every opportunity to speak a kind word, give a compliment, say something positive, or let someone know they’re loved, we change our little corner of the world today. And if we keep speaking words of life day-after-day, we keep changing lives one-by-one. We need each other more than ever right now, to be light bringers and love spreaders, hope holders and courage builders, kind doers and strength givers. God has all the word power we’ll ever need—we just need to be the ones speaking it.

Father, fill my heart with love and kindness, so the words I speak reveal the life You give.

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