Proverbs 15:4 (LB), "Gentle
words cause life and health." Your words can cause life and your words can
cause health. That's the power of gentle
words.
A pastor a few years ago went into a hospital room and there was a man
who'd been in a coma for several months, no motion, no movement, just a flat
out coma. The man's wife was there and
the doctor walked in. The doctor said in
the presence of the man in the coma, "You just need to prepare yourself,
because he's probably not going to come out of this." And he walked out of the room. The pastor, in horror, couldn't believe what
he'd just heard. So he walked over to
the man in the coma, got down into his face, and said, "John, I know you
heard that doctor and I know you heard what he said. But he's wrong and you are going to make it
and you are going to come out of this coma." And he said tears formed and began to run
down either side of his cheek. That man
not only did come out of the coma but he's active in the church today. He said the turning point was when the pastor
said to him "You are going to make it."
A pastor a few years ago went into a hospital room and there was a man
who'd been in a coma for several months, no motion, no movement, just a flat
out coma. The man's wife was there and
the doctor walked in. The doctor said in
the presence of the man in the coma, "You just need to prepare yourself,
because he's probably not going to come out of this." And he walked out of the room. The pastor, in horror, couldn't believe what
he'd just heard. So he walked over to
the man in the coma, got down into his face, and said, "John, I know you
heard that doctor and I know you heard what he said. But he's wrong and you are going to make it
and you are going to come out of this coma." And he said tears formed and began to run
down either side of his cheek. That man
not only did come out of the coma but he's active in the church today. He said the turning point was when the pastor
said to him "You are going to make it."
You have no idea the power of your words to hurt or to heal to your kids,
your husband or wife, your friends, your co workers. There is tremendous power in kind and
encouraging words. They are often the
turning point in a person's life. So you
speak the truth in love.
Ask yourself, "Who could I encourage today?" Proverbs 12:25 (LB), "A word of encouragement does wonders!" Give more strokes than pokes.
Project for this week: I want you
to encourage every person that you meet this week. Everybody is having a tough time and
everybody is hurting somewhere. Become
an encourager rather than a discourager.
Any fool can be negative. It takes
no brains at all to be a critic. They
never build statues to critics. They
build statues to people who are criticized by critics all their lives. Anybody can be negative. It takes character to be positive in a
negative world. Anybody can swear; you
can teach a parrot to swear. It takes no
intelligence at all. It takes genuine
character to speak the truth in love and to be positive in whatever you say.
Just a thought from the front porch
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