“But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them.” Luke 2:19
So…I’m speaking to the choir with this post.
I like to share. I seek to be transparent, if I can. I desire to always be honest.
But some things need to be treasured up and not spilled out. Some things need to be meditated on and not talked out. Some things need time to be warmed within our hearts and sit at the fireplace of our thoughts till they are glowing before making their way out in words. Susie Spurgeon said it best in a letter to her beloved, Charles:
“Words are but cold dishes on which to serve up thoughts and feelings which come warm and glowing from the heart.”
Words are beautiful and powerful but there are times we just speak them too soon. We share with an attitude of wisdom that we don’t have yet as we are still too close to the situation we speak about. We speak as though we have experienced all that there is to be found in a given situation which can be hurtful to others. We talk on behalf of others and break trust, leaving no room for them to share what God has been doing.
We speak too soon.
Of course, some of us are more prone to not speak at all. We treasure, we meditate and we let it sit so long that the embers die out and the warmth and glow can no longer be felt or seen by those around us. We miss the opportunity to declare the greatness of the Lord and how He has worked to accomplish His purposes. We pass by a moment of encouragement when we could have both sympathized and empathized with the pain and struggle of another.
We didn’t speak at all.
For all of us, it goes back to dependence on the Lord. It requires a heart that moment by moment submits to Him in prayer:
“Lord, I call on you; hurry to help me. Listen to my voice when I call on you. May my prayer be set before you as incense, the raising of my hands as the evening offering. Lord, set up a guard for my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.” Psalm 141:1-3
We need to pray that the Lord would protect us from ourselves! Pray that He would guard the door of our lips and keep the wrong words from spilling over and the right words flowing out: words that give grace to those who hear (Eph. 4:29), words that encourage and build up (I Thess. 5:11), words that are spoken at just the right time (Prov. 25:11), words that are seasoned with flavor and wisdom (Col. 4:6). We need to pray that we would grow in the art of listening more and speaking less…knowing when to treasure up and when to pour out.
Would you join me in these prayers?
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