David made another faith statement as he faced his giant. In 1 Samuel 17:47 he continued his faith proclamation to Goliath. It says, “Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

In verse 48 it says that David hurried and ran to meet the Philistine. Verse 50 says, “So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.”

With his sling, David’s stone found its mark and took out his giant. The Philistines speak of our flesh. Our flesh taunts our spirit. We know from 2 Corinthians 10:4 that our weapons are not of the flesh. It says they are, “…mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.”

Verse 3 Amplified says, “For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons.” Psalm 149:6 says, “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand.”

2 Chronicles 20 is a great chapter. Verse 1 says that the people of Moab, Ammon, and others came to battle against Jehoshaphat. In verse 12 his prayer from verse 6 continued. “…For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” 

Verse 17 is a verse we can stand in also. It says, “You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you…Do not fear or be dismayed…” Verse 20 says, “…Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”

Jehoshaphat appointed singers to go out before the army. Verse 21 says, “…those who should praise the beauty of holiness…” Verse 22 says, “Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people…and they were defeated.”

Armed with stone verses we use them to praise our God. We can run towards our giant because the victory has already been won. Colossians 2:15 says, “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” Jesus’ finished work on the cross is our battle cry.

Let’s go back to when Saul tried to get David to wear his armor. Remember that Saul was head and shoulders above all the people of Israel. David was still a young man. He put on Saul’s armor. 1 Samuel 17:39 says, “David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul; I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them. So David took them off.”

We cannot successfully fight our giant by just quoting a verse. It needs to be a ‘tested’ verse. Meaning that it’s a verse we have used through experience. It is a truth that is embedded in our heart that has set us free. It’s a smooth stone that has gone through the waters so that the rough edges are worn away.

Stone verses are smooth so that they hit their target and penetrate. We use the truth of His word as praise as we face our giant. Let’s take the giant of fear. It rises up to impact us when we fall into a hard trial. Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” When this verse has become part of our heart, we can use it to praise the Lord.

We don’t pray, ‘Lord be with me’ because He is! We use our stone verse like this, “Lord, I know that You are with me right now. You are my Present Help. I praise You because I am enveloped in Your Presence. Every breath I take I am breathing in Your Presence. Thank You for Your sustaining power.” Our praise comes from a heart that knows the stone verse personally through prior experiences. The Lord truly is Present. He inhabits our praise and the giant of fear is felled.

What giant in your life can defeat you? None! Colossians 3:3 says, “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” We cannot be more secure than we are. What are giants? They are works of our flesh that we have allowed to remain to taunt us. Do you feel like you are a captive to bad habits? A habit is the play out of our thoughts.

Let’s take a lesson from David. What death words did Goliath sling out at David? 1 Samuel 17:44 says, “…Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” How did David counter? Verse 45 says, “…You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, who you have defied.”

Now watch David’s faith declaration in verse 46. It says, “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you…that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”

Fear is a huge giant that seeks to oppose our faith. What do we do to counter fear? First we must remember that fear is a spirit. 2 Timothy 1:7 is a familiar verse. Yet, when we use it as a stone in our sling of faith, it will fell our giant. It says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

When we interact with fear, our thoughts get scattered. A sound mind is ordered though disciplined thought patterns. How do thoughts form? From what we believe. Our heart is our belief system. When we hide God’s word in our heart, it will be our smooth stone to position in our sling of faith. There are countless verses we can hide in our heart that will be ready stones.

Anger. James 1:19-20 says, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not promote the righteousness of God.” Anger is an inward reaction when our will is crossed. Righteousness is our thoughts, purpose, and actions conformed to God’s will.

Doubt. According to James 1:6-8, doubt makes us unstable. It divides our thoughts. It defies who God is at all times. He does not change. David had a great prayer that we can use as a stone. Psalm 86:11 says, “…unite my heart to fear Your name.” Wholeheartedness is one with God’s word. We bring it into our lives and walk it out through our conversations and actions.

Worry. Another word for worry is to fret. Psalm 37:8 says, “…do not fret–it only causes harm.” To fret means to rub away. That is what worry does in our physical bodies. Bone on bone is the fruit of worry. Matthew 6:25 is God’s command. It says, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life…” Worry is the wrong focus. Verse 33 says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…”

Did you note that fear, anger, doubt, and worry all affect our walk in righteousness. Isaiah 32:17 says, “The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.” I encourage you to think about the flesh-giants in your life. Then ask the Holy Spirit to help you gather the stone verses that you need. Hide them in your heart so they are ready to fit into your faith sling.

Have you ever put these two words together? Discontentment and disobedience were the words the Holy Spirit connected for me. I doubt that I had ever thought of them together before. It really grabbed my attention and I thought about them off and on throughout that day.

We know that satan has weapons to destroy our faith. He knows that our faith is essential to our endurance. Paul called them ‘wiles’ in Ephesians 6:11. He encouraged his readers to, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

We gain essential understanding from Ephesians 2:2 about how we were before salvation. It says, “In which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.”

Discontentment leads to disobedience. When we disobey the Lord, that opens the door for satan to work through our disobedience against God and others. Beware when niggling thoughts of discontent wiggle in. They are spiritual parasites looking for a place to embed. Note: a parasite lives off its host.

Think of these sins: adultery, fornication, jealousy, envy, lust, and stealing. What do they have in common? Discontent. They see something they don’t have and allow their desire for it to overtake them. Each one of these sins goes against God’s written word.

Psalm 119:36 says, “Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to covetousness.” Hebrews 13:5 says, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have.”

Let’s think about David for a moment. God chose him to be the king because he was a man after God’s heart. Yet David got derailed because of covetousness. He was supposed to be leading his army in battle. Instead he stayed home. 

He saw and coveted Bathsheba. When he found out who her husband was, he made preparations for him to be killed. Uriah was one of David’s 37 mighty men! He lied. He destroyed his honor. He sinned against God. 

Paul said he learned to be content. It is a lesson we all must learn. A thought of discontent is satan’s strategic fiery dart. The only way to counter that attack is through our faith.

Ephesians 6:16 says, “Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench ALL the fiery darts of the wicked one.” Isaiah 59:19 says, “So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.”

That ‘standard’ is God’s word hidden in our heart. The Holy Spirit brings it into our mind so that we might use it as a defensive weapon. As we repeat it our faith is increased. We are empowered to stand and to keep on standing in the face of the dart of discontentment. 1 Timothy 6:6 says, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain.” Notice ‘now’ is present tense. Is this verse hidden in your heart?

We have a perfect illustration from Saul’s actions of what not to do. The root to his disobedience was clearly defined by Samuel. 1 Samuel 15:9. May these words never define our heart. It says, “…and were unwilling…” Verse 11 was the Lord’s words to Samuel. It says, “…he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed my commandments.”

Let’s look at what Samuel said to Saul in another incident of disobedience. 1 Samuel 13:14 says, “But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart…” I love Psalm 63. David’s words are so precious to me because they express my heart.

Psalm 63:1 says, “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.” Verse 8 in the Amplified says, “My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me.”

When I was young I often heard that God chose David because he was a man after God’s heart. In my mind I thought it meant that David was like God’s heart. However, David’s Psalms reveal his heart’s cry of a seeker.

Psalm 27:4 says, “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek…” Verse 8 says, “When You said, Seek My face, my heart said to You, Your face, Lord, I will seek.” Are you a seeker? Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Diligence is a deep heart character quality. There is no wavering, hemming or hawing, but perseverance and dedication to obedience. Let’s look at what was said about David. In 1 Samuel 16:14 God sent a distressing spirit on Saul. His servants suggested he look for a skillful harp player.

Verse 18 says that one of the servants brought up David, “…who is…a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.” These are apt descriptions of David’s heart.

This is said of Jesus who is our pattern. Hebrews 5:8 says, “Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” 1 Peter 2:23 is another of His examples for us to follow. It says, “Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.”

Our trials are designed to train our heart to respond to God’s loving correction. Hebrews 12:11 says, “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

When we grow resentful and weary of our trial, it is a clear indication that we are not being trained by it. Resentment, bitterness, and impatience are fruits of our resistant flesh. Paul trained his heart to obey in whatever circumstances he found himself in.

When I think of all that Paul went through, I have nothing to complain about in comparison. You can read 2 Corinthians 11:23-33 for a refresher. Philippians 4:11 says, “…I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content…”

Lack of contentment often leads to disobedience. To be content is to embrace all that the Lord is doing in our lives. It is not looking back and wishing that things were different. It is living in His Presence and gazing upon Him. Paul said in Philippians 3:13, “…forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” The path of obedience is strewn with grace.

In 1 Samuel 10 the prophet Samuel gave Saul clear direction. It is passages like this that awaken my heart to be more attentive. I want to be led by the Holy Spirit into every situation the Lord has planned for my life. Do you? How do we train our hearts? Galatians 5:16 says that when we walk in the Spirit our flesh will be denied.

I think that is our key. When our flesh rises up, we need to submit our hearts to the Holy Spirit. 1 Samuel 10:7 says, “And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do  as the occasion demands; for God is with you.” Saul was instructed what would happen. All he had to do was walk into what God had prepared.

What has the Lord prepared for us? Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “But it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

The only way we can walk in what is prepared is to be attentive to the moving of the Holy Spirit in our lives. As always, Jesus is our example. John 5:19 says of Jesus, “…Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.”

Our prepared good works are beyond us. They were set into our spiritual DNA when He formed us in our mother’s womb. He alone knows what they are, the timing, and the execution. I visit this verse often as it helps me keep perspective. Ephesians 1:11 says, “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.”

Every situation, trial, circumstance, encounter, provision, and direction in our lives brings us into the counsel of His will. Psalm 85:13 says, “Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway.” Righteousness is conforming our thoughts, purpose, and actions to His will. That is what takes place in our progressive sanctification.

Isaiah 30:21 says, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it, whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.” Verse 18 says, “Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.”

Waiting until we are instructed is the key to training our hearts to be attentive. Isaiah 64:4 says that God acts for those who wait for Him. Waiting is a trial in itself. Our flesh is impatient! Whenever we are in a waiting situation, our flesh presses to be heard. Thoughts like, ‘Do something’ may come. Our mind may take off in imaginary ways of how things might play out. That is when we say ‘no!’ to our flesh and settle our hearts to hear what the Spirit is saying to us.

There is a story in 1 Samuel 9 that clearly displays how God intercepts. If you haven’t read it recently, I encourage you to refresh your memory. Saul’s father’s donkeys got lost. He sent Saul and a servant to go look for them. They looked for days and were about to turn back. Watch how this all played out through God’s interception.

In 1 Samuel 9:6 Saul’s servant told him about the man of God that lived in the city. They decided to seek out the seer to tell them the way to go. In verse 11 they asked a young woman where they could find the seer. In verse 12 she said that ‘today’ he was coming. As they were heading into the city, verse 15 says, “Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying.” 

In verse 16 the Lord explained to Samuel how he was to anoint Saul as commander over His people Israel. Verse 17 says, “So when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people.” In verse 18 Saul met Samuel and asked him where he would find the seer.

Samuel instructed him to go up to the high place to eat with him. Then he told him that the donkeys had been found. Now watch how the Lord had set up the next scene. In verse 23 Samuel said to the cook, “…Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, Set it apart.” In verse 24 the cook brought the thigh portion to Saul and Samuel said, “…Here it is, what was kept back. It was set apart for you…”

When the Lord is ready to present what He has set apart for us, He intercepts our way. It doesn’t say, but I would imagine that Saul and his servant were frustrated that they could not find the donkeys. They had no idea that the Lord had orchestrated the whole entire situation. Years ago the Holy Spirit gave me a definition for frustration: God intercepting my way to redirect me into His way.

Think of some other times that the Lord intercepted folks. Saul of Tarsus was intercepted. His life was radically changed. The Lord gave to him what He had kept back. Paul took the gospel to the Gentiles. Through God’s interception you and I have the privilege to receive essential instruction for our walk with the Lord. Paul wrote many of his epistles while in prison. 

I think of Hagar also. When Sarai treated her harshly she fled from her presence. The Angel of the Lord found her and spoke to her about the child she was carrying. In Genesis 16:13 she said, “…You-Are-The-God-Who-Sees…” There was another time where He intercepted her. The Lord had a hidden provision for her. When she was in absolute despair, he revealed Himself to her in a new way. Abraham had sent her away with her young son Ishmael. She was in the wilderness. Her food and water ran out. She placed Ishmael under a shrub and sat across from him and cried. 

Genesis 21:17 says, “And God heard the voice of the lad…” Then an angel of God called out to her to see what her problem was. Verse 19 says, “Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water…” It doesn’t say, but I believe the well was there all along. What provision is near you that you do not yet see? The next time you feel frustrated, stop and be still. Ready your heart to receive God’s interception so that He can direct you into His way.

God’s love cannot be described in human terms. When we go back to Psalm 119:15, contemplating His ways takes us into a realm of limitlessness. There are several verses that come to mind. The first is Psalm 103:7. It’s a verse I have often pondered over. It says, “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.”

I love Romans 11:33 which says, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” There we have it. No matter how much we contemplate His ways, we won’t find an end to them. Hebrews 7:16 was written about Jesus. It says, “Who has come…according to the power of an endless life.”

Endless life. He is from eternity to eternity. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Verse 26 says that we are made in His image. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “…He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”

God’s love has no limits. Here is a surprising verse. Psalm 78:40 says that the children of Israel provoked the Lord and grieved Him. Verse 41 says, “Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.” 

How do we limit God? Ephesians 1:13 says that when we believe His gospel for salvation, that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 4:30 says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Verses 31 and 32 explained how we can grieve Him.

They say, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Couple these two verses with 1 John 2:10. It says, “He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.”

The above set of verses are God’s way. They are His prescription for health. When we violate them, we put our health in jeopardy. Proverbs 3:8 says that when we trust in the Lord, acknowledge Him in all our ways, and we fear Him, “It will be health to our flesh and strength to our bones.”Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…”

Here is the crux of the matter. When we live experientially in God’s love for us, we will desire to care for our bodies which is His temple. He dwells in us to empower us to follow His ways. That desire will keep us from sinning against His love for us and for others. 1 John 5:2 says, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.”

I love the story of Dagon. You can read about it in 1 Samuel 5. I have a personal application. In the 70’s I had my house up for sale. A fellow came to look at it. When he saw my desk he asked what I did for a living. I told him that I had my own bookkeeping business. He offered me a job.

I went to his place of business. He showed me where my desk would be, which was across from his little office. As I walked into his office, there was a life size picture of a nude woman. I asked him to take it down, which he refused. I told him about Dagon. I said that I would ask the Lord to make it fall like Dagon. The next morning I walked into my office and the picture was bent over on itself. He took it down. 

What is defying the Lord in your life? David faced a giant with confidence. In 1 Samuel 17:45, he said to Goliath, “…I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”

The giants that we ALLOW to remain in our lives usurp and defy our God. The Lord uses our adverse circumstances to shake what we have not removed. Let’s start with our thoughts against ourselves. They are thoughts based on lies that we have believed. 

When our thoughts do not align with what God says about us, then we need to renew our mind with His truth that will set us free. Psalm 119:73 says, “Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.”

We learn something through a process. First we have to hear it. Then we need to understand it. Isaiah 55:3 says, “Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live…” Incline means to listen favorably.

There are so many Scriptures that tell us how the Lord sees us. We need to believe them and apply them to our lives. Joshua 1:8 says that we are to ‘observe to do’. Psalm 119:5-6 says, “Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes! Then I would not be ashamed when I look into all Your commandments.”

It is essential to read His word daily so that we can apply it. Just reading it is the first part. To observe means to mark it as something significant that will bring inner transformation. You see, the lies that we believe diminish our understanding. They blind us through deception. The truth is opaque, but the lies are bright and in our face.

Proverbs 2:1 says to receive and treasure. Verse 2 says, “So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding.” King Solomon was instructing his son, yet we can make personal applications.

Verses 3-4 say, “Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasure.”  Verse 5 is the result. It says, “Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”

Psalm 119:15 says, “I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways.” Contemplate means to deep dive into something through our thoughts. Let’s take one of God’s ways to contemplate. Do you love yourself? In Matthew 22:36 a lawyer asked Jesus what the greatest commandment of the law was. He spoke the first one, and in verse 39 He said, “…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

I encourage you to ask yourself: how do I love myself? This is not an answer of self-love. It is an understanding of how much we are loved so that we are able to express His love through us to others. John 15:12 says, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

What are you speaking to yourself through your thoughts? We are called to bless. That includes ourselves. Do you speak life words that affirm who you are in Christ? What do you think when you make a poor decision? What is your inner reaction when someone criticizes you?

James 3:9 applies to us as an individual as well as our relationship with others. It says about our tongue, “With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.” Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…”

I know what I am writing about. In my years of self-hatred and self-rejection, I cursed my body with my words. Knowing what I know now, I can only imagine how my body shuddered every time I said, “I hate you body.” Through my death words, I was cursing my body that is made in the similitude of God. 

1 Corinthians 6:19 was not a reality to me. Though I knew the verse, I did not live in the knowledge of its truth. It says, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” 1 John 1:6 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”

We ‘practice the truth’ when we make it our own. It is experiential truth that sets us free. I was slowly destroying my health by my negative thoughts which became spoken words. Our thoughts control our brain, and our brain controls our body. How did I course correct? It was through my intimate communion with the Lord. He used my trial of falling into the ravine to woo me to Himself.

I accepted the Lord as my personal Savior in 1958. Yet, I knew nothing of intimacy with Him until 1977. The Lord knows us intimately, but it is not until we open our heart to Him that we can experientially dwell in that intimacy. John 15:16 says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain…”

Revelation 3:2 was Jesus’ message to the dead church of Sardis. Listen to His words. “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.” Hebrews 12:27 says, “Now this, Yet once more, indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.”

Colossians 2:6-7 tells us how to strengthen the things which remain. This is about our faith. It says, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.”

I want you to take a moment and think about your life and your walk with the Lord. When we speak negatively over ourselves, that is a dross that undermines our faith. It is time to examine our hearts. We live in unprecedented times. We need to remain steadfast and immovable in the face of evil. I encourage you right now to stop and say this verse out loud. Psalm 139:14 says, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows right well.”

This is the title of one of my ebooks that were published in 2016. It is also the title to chapter 5 in my book: Victorious Heart: intimate communion with God. Lacing our words with honey is all about imparting grace to our hearers.

Psalm 45:2 was written about Jesus. It says, “You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured upon Your lips; therefore God has blessed You forever.” Do you want to be blessed? Do you want to be a blessing to others?

Proverbs 16:24 says, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” Watch what happened when Jonathan dipped the end of his rod in a honeycomb. 1 Samuel 14:27 says, “…and put his hand to his mouth; and his countenance was brightened.”

Do your words brighten the countenance of the one you are speaking to, or cause their face to cloud up? Our heart is revealed through our eyes. William Shakespeare said that our eyes are the window to our soul. We can often see the inner health of a person through their eyes. Have you ever seen a sad, angry, or troubled person? Then you know what I am saying.

What is behind honeycomb and the health of our bones? Google says that the inside of our bones is structured like a honeycomb. The honeycomb mesh structure gives our bones strength. When osteoporosis sets in, it creates patches within the bone that are not supported.

You have heard of bone marrow. I love this verse in Job because it is a picture of health. Job 21:24 Amplified says, “His pails are full of milk (his veins are filled with nourishment) and the marrow of his bones is fresh and moist.”

Here is a picture of someone’s bones that are not healthy. Proverbs 17:22 says, “…a  broken spirit dries the bones.” What causes a broken or crushed spirit? Death words! Proverbs 18:14 says, “The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?”

Jesus came to set broken hearts free. Luke 4:18 Amplified described it as “…who are oppressed (who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity).” Psalm 107:20 says, “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”

Harsh words of rejection have a slamming effect on a tender heart. School children rejected by their peers is so devastating. I remember walking home from grammar school. I was being called names, but stood up to those bullies. I put my hands on my hips and said, ‘Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.’ It was a lie of course, but I had learned how to live that lie as self-protection.

Hateful words hurt, maim, cripple, and crush. There is healing through forgiveness. How a person calls you is not who you are. You are made in the image of God. You are of great value to the Lord Jesus who died for you. He bore the sins against you, as well as the sins that you commit (past, present, and future).

Take note. We often erect emotional walls in our heart because our spirit has been crushed by death words. This is not God’s way. His way to freedom is through life-giving words. Listen to these verses in Psalm 71:3 and 6. It says, “Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress. By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. My praise shall be continually of You.”

Instead of getting stuck in the crucible of a crushed spirit, live your day with an attitude of gratitude. Praise the Lord in your heart. When our heart is lifted up in praise, the power of life flows through every cell and tissue. 

Psalm 146:2 says, “While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” Our praise opens the way for the Lord to permeate our space. Psalm 22:3 says that God is enthroned on our praise. As we confess our unforgiveness for those who have hurt us with their death words, we can offer up a sacrifice of praise. Hebrews 13:15 says that thanksgiving is the fruit of our lips.