Your Miracle Might Be In Your Response
Words carry weight. Saying them require minimal or no effort but their impact cannot be quantified. Just one word can cause a cold blooded war between countries, and at the same time bring peace between two siblings who have sworn not to see face to face. Hence, the saying “choose your words wisely” is of inestimable value.
The way we feel internally has a connection with the words we say. Jesus Christ succinctly puts it well in Matthew 12:34, “…for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Usually, when we feel good or are spoken to kindly, it is not surprising that we respond by saying good things. Similarly, if we are treated badly, there is a tendency to respond negatively; it is sort of an inbuilt defense mechanism to uphold our self esteem. I observed a trend in the Bible about words, which I believe produces outstanding results. I have tested it and it works my dear friend! God is good, fair and just; if you do this also, I guarantee a drastic change in your life.
In Mark 7:25-30, a Greek woman whose daughter needed a cure, came begging Christ for help. Surprisingly, Christ literally called her a dog! He wanted to attend to the Jews first, and then others later—“First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” At the time, the Jews regarded the Greeks as outsiders, and both parties weren’t really on good terms. However, I strongly believe from this situation that Christ wasn’t following the cultural norm but emphasizing a great point. Every moment was a learning moment with Christ, which always kept his disciples on their toes. Similarly, I believe this was, and still is a learning point.
Honestly, I think if I were in the same position, I might have gone ballistic! “How dare you call me a dog?!” “Are you kidding me? A dog? Me? Because my daughter has issues?” “I’m done with this! You called me a dog? I will go somewhere else!” However, take a look at the remarkable response this woman of gold gave—“Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
This response definitely surprised as well as impressed Christ. Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” If she responded otherwise, like I might have, she would have missed her miracle! Her response enlightened me. A lot of us have missed many golden opportunities because we responded in a negative manner (as a defense mechanism). Wait a minute, don’t shoot me just yet. I know you might be thinking,”So should I be disrespected or insulted by everyone because of opportunities?” I’m not suggesting that. I suggest that you look at the bigger picture. Are you more interested in achieving your goal or someone’s reply that might prevent you from achieving your goal? Let me show you another example. A devoted man, called Zacharias and his wife, Elizabeth, couldn’t have children, and both served in church. When they were very old, on one of his days of serving in church, an angel appeared to Zacharias. He was told he was going to have a very great son who will prepare the way for Jesus Christ. Of course, that sounded absurd. They were past the age of child bearing so he sarcastically responded, “You’ve got to be kidding me. How am I meant to believe that? Do you know how old we are?” Though the response was logical, it was the chief angel of delivering God’s messages, Gabriel, that stood before him! For that response, he was made dumb by Gabriel until the child was born. Isn’t that surprising? Luckily for Zacharias, he didn’t miss his long awaited miracle! (See Luke 1:5-25).
Dear friends, let us carefully consider our responses; at the job interview, to our spouses, to our children, to our bosses at work, to the stranger you meet, and others. Look at your ultimate goal and do not allow anything or anyone prevent you from achieving it. Be slow to speak and think before you respond. Bring down your walls and turn deaf to words that might prevent you from your goal. You never can tell, your long awaited miracle might be in your response.
I hope you enjoyed this post. Kindly enter your email address to follow 8minuteword.com and receive notifications of new posts by email.