Wounded Spirit Overcoming the Effects of Negative Words by Michael Owens
After getting off of the school bus, Michael walked to his house, put his key in the lock and slowly opened the door. He called out to see if his mother was home. No one answered; he was home alone.
Closing the door behind him, he dropped his stuff at the front door and dragged his tired body up the stairs to his room. Although he could barely keep his eyes open, his mind was racing with thoughts about the day.
It had been a rough day at school. Even though he was a junior, he was only 14 years old. He had skipped two grades, but was now having a hard time keeping up with the classes. School was not as easy as he would have liked.
He smiled at the thought of Mrs. Williamson, the assistant principal, falling down in the middle of the lunchroom, her food flying everywhere. He would have laughed aloud, but he was too tired.
What bothered him the most was the fight he had with his dad earlier that morning. Actually, it was their series of fights that bothered him. That seemed to be their constant method of conversation. Michael felt like he could never please his father, no matter how hard he tried. His dad wanted to make a “man” out of him and thought the best way to do so was by continually harping on him. Tyrone tried to erase all of the negative things his father had said to him about his looks, personality and grades, but they kept echoing through his brain like a bad dream.
Once inside his room, he kicked off his shoes and collapsed onto the bed, throwing the comforter over his head to shut out the light.
The stress and tension of the day began to slowly melt away as Michael drifted off to sleep. In his dream, he stood before a cheering crowd of thousands of people who were throwing roses at him. He looked around and saw his name on a brightly colored banner. His heart fluttered as he realized that he was holding the hand of a beautiful woman. He looked at both of their hands and saw that they were wearing matching diamond and platinum wedding rings.
Taking a moment to gaze into her face, he thought to himself, She’s mine! She looked at him with admiration, pride and love. Tears burned Michael’s eyes as he kissed her hand. Their private moment was quickly interrupted by the booming voice of the emcee: “Please welcome Dr. Michael Watson!”
A thunderous applause roared through the auditorium as Michael walked to the podium. Adjusting the microphone, he said, “I would first like to thank God for being everything that I have ever needed. Without Him I would not be here.”
Suddenly the applause turned to pounding. What was that noise? Michael groaned as he realized it was his mother banging on his bedroom door. “Michael, get out here right now. If I told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times: Don’t leave your stuff at the front door! Why are you so lazy?” Throwing back the covers, he crawled out of bed and back into the reality of his miserable life.
The Power of Words
Many young people have dreams, goals and aspirations. They see themselves as judges, lawyers, doctors, rappers, singers, athletes and ministers. Some of them simply want to live in a nice home and own their own business.
With each dream, however, comes an obstacle. Some of the biggest obstacles to dreams are words—mainly the negative words that have been spoken by people we love as well as by people we hardly know. If we constantly hear and dwell on unkind words, we will eventually begin to believe them and then wonder if we will ever amount to anything in life.
There’s an old saying that goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Parents often share this phrase with their kids after their children have been teased. Parents want their children to quickly “get over” unkind words and move on. How important are words? Are they as harmless as this saying would have us believe?
No. Words are very powerful. They have the power to create or destroy, build up or tear down. In the first chapter of Genesis we see that God created the world with words. Every moving, breathing, living thing on the earth was created because God spoke it into existence.
Proverbs 15:4 says, “Kind words heal and help; cutting words wound and maim” (The Message Bible). Proverbs 18:21 also states that life and death are in the power of the tongue. We either live or die by the words we speak and hear.
Getting Over It
Everything in life starts with a decision, and if you are ready to live, you first have to decide that no matter what negative thing anybody has said about or to you, you will not allow it to affect how you think about yourself.
Proverbs 23:7 says, “…For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.…” How do you think about yourself—positively or negatively? If you allow yourself to dwell on the negative things that someone said about you, you will eventually see yourself in the wrong way. God, however, never looks at you negatively. In Jeremiah 29:11, He says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you…thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” God’s words and thoughts should be the only ones that really matter to you. This scripture shows you that He wants to see you happy and prosperous.
David realized that God had good thoughts toward him when he said, “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” (Psalm 139:17). He goes on to say if he could count all of God’s thoughts toward him, they would outnumber all of the grains of sand on the earth (verse 18).
God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). If He had good thoughts about David, He also thinks about you in the same way. God’s thoughts and words are not determined by who you are. He loves everybody the same. What does God saying about His children?
In Genesis 12:2, God told Abraham that He wanted to make his name great. God wants to make your name great, too! When God created Adam in Genesis 1:26, He said that He made him in His image. Likewise, you are made in His image! This scripture also shows you that you have the same ability to create things with the words you speak!
After making a decision to think about yourself in the same way that God sees you, search the scriptures to find everything that God has said about you. Then speak those words aloud to remind yourself of God’s thoughts. As you do this, you will be creating a new life for yourself through the words you speak.
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Take time to confess the Word of God over your life every day. You will soon notice a difference in the way you think, act and live. You will be able to overcome any negative words that people have said about you. Ultimately, you will be a changed person and achieve the success you desire. Remember that God loves you, and He wants to use you to do great and mighty things!