The Gift of Words

"In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"- Acts 20:35 (NIV).

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms" (1 Peter 4:10). We always think of "giving" as money and/or time, but many times the gift is in our words. Not all "giving" is within our Divinely given gifts, but words, aptly chosen and dispensed, can be healing, inspiring, comforting, encouraging, leading, correcting, instructing, and loving, to mention a few, and is a powerful gift we all possess. People are shaped by the words we speak, for good and for bad. Do you remember a time when words spoken to you made a difference? There are many different gifts, but we all have the gift of words, and Jesus said it is a blessing when we use our gifts appropriately. Gifting our words can be hard work at times: the rebellious child, the friend with the crisis, the awkward or ignored neighbor, the angry loved one...the list goes on. If words were not that important, God wouldn't have had an entire book written about them: James. And when we have moments where we are in need of words, there's no better place to find them than in the Word, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said.