Bits….Bits…Bits….  Which bit do I need?  “I”  the word of the day.

James speaks of horses and bridling our tongues in the Bible.  When you put a bridle on a horse for the first time, is he tame immediately? NO. It takes some time and taming the tongue takes time.

Let’s do an illustration before we go any further. Take your index finger and open your mouth and push your tongue down with some pressure on the center of your tongue. NOW, try and swallow. Hard right, the more pressure you put, it can almost be impossible to swallow.  Yet, this is what some bits do to horses. Not very nice to say the least.

But, once again the Lord can use a lesson in horses to teach us all a spiritual lesson. Because as I demonstrated this in our small group, I said for some of us, we should  choke on our words that we are wanting to say. Some of us can have a more gentle bit and some of us needs harsh ones. What kind of bit do you need? If life and death are in the power of the tongue and they are according to Proverbs 18:21, why do we speak so quickly? Why is it so hard to repent and say we are sorry to others when our words have created so much damage?

I listened to a sermon several times from Pastor Robert Morris is Dallas. He gave us three words to help with our words and our tongue.

Pause, Ponder and Pray

Pause before you speak. It is a temporary stop . Ponder is to consider something deeply, weigh carefully and Pray.  There are three kinds of people really. Those who think before they talk. Those that think while they talk and those who think AFTER they talk.

Pastor Robert has a friend who called him after his sermon on the tongue. He shared that the Lord was dealing with him about his mouth also. The Lord gave this friend a word also and it was the word WAIT. Pastor Robert said, wait, just like pause and ponder. The friend said no Robert, it was an acronym for me. IT stood for…

W- Why

A- Am

I – I

T- Talking

So funny, but so much truth.

Let me be the first to say, have I mastered this? Absolutely not. Am I getting better? Absolutely. One step forward. I am still in the stage of learning the great skill of being UN-offendable. Is it hard? The hardest thing I have ever done. Are there some days I am soaring like an eagle? YES, and there are other days that I am crawling like a caterpillar on the ground. It is impossible with man but divinely possible with our God.

We think in two places, our hearts and our minds. Jesus said, out of the abundance of the HEART the mouth speaks.

IF we would pause, ponder and pray, we would be better equipped to say, “From the bottom of my heart” I would like to tell you….. instead of from the top of my head or the tip of my tongue.

I will end with Isaiah 6. Isaiah was a prophet. Think about that, a prophet of God. In a vision he saw the Lord. Take time to read this chapter. What is the first thing Isaiah was convicted of when he saw the Lord? His mouth.  Selah ~

Conviction is not a bad thing, it is growing us and strengthening us for our journey ahead. May we pause, ponder and pray. May we be cleansed of our unrighteousness so that we like Isaiah can answer the Lord when he ask, Whom shall I send? We can answer, send us Lord, send us to the world.

Each day I am  striving to take one step FORWARD in this journey for Him. In this worldly, flesh body it is hard, I do not argue that. A friend said something a couple of days ago,  the only way we grow is through trials. These last 6 weeks or so, I am growing at a supernatural rate. Ha  But God, know… that he is faithful. He will finish what he started in you. His word is true and his promises, oh his promises are everlasting ~

Let’s pause, ponder and pray so that we can get to the place that we can ride without a bridle at all. Just like we have seen some of the Professionals do in the horse world. Did it take practice, oh yes, much practice and skill, we need Godly skill but the ride, that ride where we can feel like we are flying… true freedom…. Priceless ~

In His Love and Mine,

Darla