"We have what we say."

We can never underestimate the power of our words, sis. They literally create our world. There are many factors that affect the lives that we live but nothing is as impactful as the words that come out of our mouths. It's easy to become careless and nonchalant because we speak thousands of words daily. But lately, I've been pausing a lot more now that I know the quality of our lives is dependent on them. Why? Well, the truth is, we have what we say. The life we have today is directly related to the words we have spoken in the past. And our future is dependent on the words that we say now.

What really changed the game for me is hearing this quote--"Our words are seeds."

With this quote in mind, I asked myself two questions. Why should we care about what we say? And does God have anything to say about it? Well, it didn't take long to realize that He has a lot to say about it. Sis, there is a whole book in the Bible dedicated to making sure that we use our words wisely. I don't think that is by coincidence. God knew what would trip us up.

Think about it. God was the first example to show the creative power of words. He spoke things into existence in Genesis 1. He said “Let there be light” and guess what, there was light! To think, everything that we see started with a word. And since we are made in His image, God gave us that same ability.

Now that we know our words create what we see, let's dive deeper into the impact!

I've said things like, “I feel stressed.” It's no coincidence that I start stressing out even more after saying it out loud. My mind didn't have the chance to feel peace. Lesson learned. I’ll give another deeper example that I heard the other day. When talking about the power of words on a podcast--Michelle Williams, who was once engaged, shared that she kept saying “We’re not going to make it down the aisle.” She said this statement over and over and over throughout the engagement. Guess what happened? They never made it down the aisle. Her words became true. (Check out Proverbs!)

This may be an extreme example. And sure, there were more than likely other contributing factors involved but in a way—our words can often become a self-fulfilling prophecy where we say things, our behavior acts accordingly, and then we eventually have what we say. Think about it. Faith is about speaking things that haven’t happened yet as if they already happened. Faith requires action but it first comes alive in the words that we say. When it comes to devotionals, daily confessions, mantras, and affirmations—-They ALL have something in common. They all involve speaking words over ourselves.

With all this said, it's important that we speak things that we wish to be brought into existence. We won’t always get it right because we’re human. I don’t always get my words right but I will say that I’m taking more pauses to think about what I say before I say anything. Words can be spoken left and right but they can NEVER be taken back.

One thing that hit me is that a lot of inner turmoil that we experience including insecurities, anxiety, depression, and anything else related to our mental health can be linked to the damage of either our own words or someone else’s. It sometimes takes years to repair relationships due to the collateral damage of words. If I can be completely honest, there are words that people have said years ago, both good and bad that still echo and play like a tape recorder in my mind. This is okay if the words are positive! And it is most beneficial if the words agree with what God has already said. (Once again, the book of Proverbs has many gems about the power of words.)

The key is to just be careful with our word choice. And this isn’t just the words we speak to others but the words we speak over ourselves too. Thoughts are only words inside our heads. This is why the words we speak over ourselves matter! They really do because what comes out of our mouths is only a reflection of the thoughts that we think. And everything can be traced back to a thought. “When you change how you talk to yourself, you change your story. What you tell yourself will make or break your life.” (Td Jakes)

Sis, what are you telling yourself? And what are you speaking over other people? These are questions I have to ask myself regularly. I definitely have to check myself on the regular. (More like daily lol). If I don’t check myself, my thoughts start running wild and negative words start flying out. And the beautiful thing about a relationship with God is he can serve as a buffer. Conviction is so real.

Deep down, we know when we’ve said something off. So you may be thinking, "How do I undo what I already said?" The words may be out but we can do damage control. If your words were toward another person, we can use words to apologize and take ownership of what we said. When it comes to any negative thoughts, we can speak words that counteract them. My therapist told me something that I’ll never forget, “Your mind can only focus on one thing at a time. So you can’t think and talk at the same time. When you have a negative thought, cut it off and say something out loud to counteract that thought.”

Sis, negative thoughts and words do come from time to time and they will try your life. They still try my life but the key is to catch them before they take root. Your thoughts may say, “I don’t matter” but you can say out loud “I matter because God says I matter.” Over time, our words and thoughts will become less and less negative. We can get to a point where negative words just don't hit the same. That’s goals.

To wrap everything up---

1. We have what we say. Our present is tied to past words. And our future is tied to our present words.

2. Our words have the power to create, heal, encourage, destroy, and hurt.

3. When it comes to watching your words, don’t beat yourself up if you don't get it right at first.

4. Remember, it took time to train the thoughts you have now so it will take time to retrain your thoughts and form a new way of speaking. (It takes two weeks for a new habit to form.)

If it took years to build those negative thoughts in your mind, then it will take an extended time to get rid of the negativity and rework your thoughts. Give yourself grace. If your go-to or default is to speak negative words, then it will take time to have a new default. It may be awkward at first and it will take work to switch it up. BUT the fact that you want to do better is proof that you're well on your way!