Latest Devotion
Mirror God’s Word
By: Wendy Sanders
Thursday, July 16, 2026
Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm 141:3
This past week, my son played a huge practical joke on me. But when he heard my panic and fear as his joke unfolded, he realized he might have taken it too far. When he heard my reaction, he instantly apologized and told me he was sorry. But when I realized it was just a prank, I knew I had a choice... I could either fire off a few harsh words and ground him for 10 years, or I could tell I haven’t been pranked that good in a very long time.
Luckily for him (and only by God's grace), I chose the latter. But that incident reminded me how powerful our words are. They can speak life and love over someone, but they can also bring destruction. We all have the power to choose how we'll use our words.
God knows the power of words, which is why the scriptures warn us to control what we say. If you think about it, God could have used any method to tell us who He is and about His character, but He chose to use His written Word.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Matthew 24:35
Jesus spoke these words to His disciples, but we are still reading them today. I'm so thankful we have God's Word to direct us, teach us, and to guide us through life. When we study God's Word, we learn how to speak and act in ways that please Him. The more we learn about God's character, the more our words will reflect His nature. Everyone's words reflect something... But when a Christ follower's words are different than the world's, people take notice.
When his prank backfired, my son thought my words might bring destruction. Instead, he heard the exact opposite! I'm not trying to boast about my behavior, because there were plenty of other times that my words weren't Spirit filled. But over the years, I've learned that the more time I spend in God’s Word, the more my words will mirror God’s standards.
Pause, and take a moment to reflect on your words. Do they reflect God's character and nature? Or have you been responding the same way the world does? Here's something else to consider: Do you need to apologize or ask for forgiveness because of something you've said? Or maybe it was something you should have said, but you didn’t...
As our opening verse (Psalm 141:3) says, let's ask God to help us always keep watch over the "door" of our lips!