“They’ve made me feel like a prisoner
They’ve made me feel set free
They’ve made me feel like a criminal
Made me feel like a king
They’ve lifted my heart
To places I’d never been
And they’ve dragged me down
Back to where I began”
What is Hawk Nelson talking about? Sounds like a riddle between Gollum and Bilbo Baggins from “The Hobbit“. The first several times I heard this song, I didn’t listen close enough to hear the words. Then I found out that’s exactly what it’s about: “Words“:
“Words can build you up
Words can break you down
Start a fire in your heart or
Put it out”
Yep, our words are packed with power. Deuteronomy 30:19 says that we have a choice to make: we can bless or we can curse. I think that, next to saying “Thank you” (click on the red words to read that post), the next best habit we can develop is that of blessing. This post is about saying bless you:
Proverbs 18:21 says that “the tongue has the power of life and death” (check out Speak Life for more on that). Joyce Meyer spoke about this in her broadcast on 2-4-15 called “The Power of Words“. She said, “Your words can carry your faith to the Kingdom of God and release angels to help you, or your words can carry your fears to the Kingdom of Darkness and release more trouble in your life.”
I remember taking Jordan Rose to a service project in a questionable neighborhood a few years back. I parked my car and we walked to the house where we were working that morning. My mind kept going back to my car, worrying that someone might break in. I believe that God spoke to me through His Holy Spirit and said, “Do you want your worries to strengthen the power of darkness or do you want your prayers to strengthen the power of God?” A switch went off in my brain and I started praying that God would bless the whole area. Everyone was safe that day and our cars were untouched. Was that a coincidence? Or did prayer make a difference? I may never know, but I know I wouldn’t give up the peace I felt in offering prayers and blessings instead of being wrapped up in a bundle of nerves.
You might call me a “blessing fanatic”, as I’ve spent many years training myself to bless everything I can think of. I bless the house when I leave; I bless the dog and the basement; I bless the people walking down the street as I see them; I bless the car that’s tailgating me and the one that cut me off (hey, that could have been me and I pray that the person I cut off would bless me too); I bless the people I’ve met and the people I’ve yet to meet; I bless the people who can see the gorgeous sunrise and the people who can’t see the gorgeous sunrise because they’re stuck in a building at work (boy, I guess that covers just about everyone!). If you’re reading this, I’ve probably blessed you too. I believe that living a life of blessing is not only good for those being blessed, but it’s also good medicine for my brain. The more I can focus on blessing you, the more I get my mind off of myself.
Joshua just said the other day, “Dad yells at the traffic. Mom just blesses everyone.” I loved that. It was beautiful confirmation that it’s not all talk, but that I’m actually practicing what I’m preaching. And God bless my husband. May he learn to bless the traffic as well. 🙂
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