Psalm 139:4 - The 31 Day Challenge

"Before a word is on my tongue, You know it completely, O LORD."

Psalm 139:4

This verse makes me squirm a little.  How many times in any given day do I have something mean to say to someone or about someone?  I am not a confrontational person at all, and I don't (often) intend to hurt someone's feelings.  I am pretty sensitive to others' words to me, and I don't want to be the cause of people being upset because of something I said.  So I keep most of those things in my head where they should be.

But God already knows those hurtful things I had in my head, even when I don't speak them.  Ouch!   Even when I am trying to have some self-control, God still knows when I fall short and where I disappoint.  I want to  please Him.  I desire what He wants and treat people accordingly, but I find myself standing in His way so many times.

I have to remind myself that I am on a journey.  As I walk through life, I grow in my faith.  I am still so far from being like Christ.  But when I look at where I was twenty years ago, or ten years ago, or even five years ago, I have made a lot of progress.

Not only does God know the unkind words that I say or think, but He also knows all the other ones as well.  He knows every time I thought about saying something kind or helpful or encouraging and ended up not saying it.  He knows when I tried to say the right words, and they came out all garbled up.  He knows the times when I attempted to tell someone about His love and got all tongue-tied.

He knows my heart, good and bad.  Whether I get it right or wrong in a moment, it does not make Him love me any more..or any less.  His grace is sufficient for me.

Over time, I have found that the more I fill myself with His Word through my daily activities, the more likely I am able to say or do something that reflects His will and glory.  In the book of Matthew, Jesus tells us that, "Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks."  In order for me to have loving, kind, encouraging words flowing out of my mouth, I have to check my heart first and make sure that it is acceptable and pleasing to God.