There are a couple of texting features that I use A LOT on my phone:
Voice texting – who really wants to type all those words anyway?
Editing – because sometimes Siri doesn’t understand me.
Even when I am going old school and using my fingers to send a text, I still manage to mess up. There are times that I can’t even blame autocorrect. It’s just user error all the way.
In a couple of text threads recently, I left out key words that literally changed everything about the statement. The latest blunder involved a text about an upcoming road trip. It went something like this:
“Hey – it turns out that she will be joining us after all.”
EXCEPT what I meant to say was …
“Hey – it turns out that she will NOT be joining us after all.”
BIG DIFFERENCE.
If I had just reread my text, I could have avoided the aftermath of confusion and muddled plans.
In addition to my texting mishaps, there’s something else I’ve been dealing with more lately: my insecurities, specifically regarding my words. This issue isn’t anything new. In fact, it is an old enemy that keeps rearing its ugly head.
My insecurity started as a small seed when I was a child, solidified as a young adult and has lingered throughout my adult years. It is my “thorn in the flesh”. I will often walk away from a conversation, teaching or meeting, thinking of all the things I could have said better. Some days are certainly better than others.
After fighting this battle in my mind for so long, admittedly, I’ve grown weary. But my mama didn’t raise no quitter! I took it to the Lord in prayer … again. Immediately, He led me to scriptures I had found refuge in before … verses that had encouraged me and stories that I could relate to.
In other words, God was telling me … REREAD HIS TEXT.
I went back to the story of Moses who had his own fears of speaking: “Moses said to the Lord, ‘Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.’ The Lord said to him, ‘Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”’” Exodus 4:10-12
I reread the promise that God would give me wisdom (James 1:5) and the words to say (Isaiah 50:4, Luke 12:11-12).
When Jesus encountered the tempter (aka the devil) in the wilderness, there are probably a million and one things He could have done. Maybe called for some angel backup? Sent the devil back to where he came from? But instead, He responded with these simple words … “It is written” (Matthew 4:4,7,10).
I have now compiled my own “It is written” arsenal and taped the list* to my bathroom mirror. Every day, I want to reread what God says. My thorn may not be your thorn, but whatever the thorn is, it is no match for God’s Word.
The Bible is more than a story … It is our sword. When we know what is written, we know what to say when the enemy comes at us. Read God’s Word, then read it again and again. You can’t go wrong!
2 Corinthians 12:9 “But He (the Lord) said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” ~Anu
*If you want a copy of the scriptures I have included on my list, comment below or message us. I’ll send it your way!
