Choose Joy
Today was tough. I was the subject of a complaint from a customer at work and I was absolutely gob-smacked. I take pride in my customer service skills. I go out of my way to assist people. How could this happen?
It’s not the first tough thing that has happened lately and I can tell you that my first instinct was not to express my joy. But maybe it was the pain I incurred from a string of tough events lately that made me pause before reacting. My first instinct was to rant, uttering a list of negative words and cursing myself.
I’ve been reflecting on the power of our words lately as a weapon of war. Our words are a weapon and a declaration. God created our world with his word. Jesus told us to keep on speaking the truth of God’s word. It can make or break us.
For years I’ve been the first to rant with negativity. There are hundreds of reasons why that has happened, some valid, some just a really bad habit. Regardless of why I spoke them, I was tearing myself apart with them. I used them for self-harm without realising what I was doing.
I recently heard Pastor Bill Johnson say that 80% of the words that come out of our mouths are negative. That statistic is reason to pause and reflect before speaking. (Note: I will track down a link for his message.)
So after I heard the complaint today, I took my lunchbreak and I prayed. I told God how much I need Him and His comfort today. He reminded me of Psalm 91. I read it again. I actually searched online for photos of mother birds protecting their young under their wings. I needed to see it with my own eyes. How beautiful!
Those outstretched wings reminded me of the wings fashioned from gold and stretched across the Ark of the Covenant. Today I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t declare all the negative things about my circumstances that I would have liked to. I sat with the Lord and His word and I was comforted.
The problem remains, but I know that whatever happens, I am safe under the shelter of His wings.
“Security of One Who Trusts in the Lord.
One who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
For it is He who rescues you from the net of the trapper
And from the deadly plague.
He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may take refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and wall.”
