A Fire from Within

Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church. Please feel free to follow along.

I want to begin by apologizing for not getting the post up the last couple of days. I hope you have done the Bible reading. I also want to give an update on Crystal. She is doing great. They kept her overnight to monitor her blood pressure and to do a urine collection. Her blood pressure was great so they sent her home to finish the test. From now on we see the high risk doctor. However, this should only be for a few more weeks because then the baby should be here. Thank you all for your patience.

Today’ reading (Psalms 39 & 40) begins in an interesting way. Re-read these words of David:

I said “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence.” But when I was silent and still, not even saying anything good, my anguish increased. My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:”

I think there are valid lessons we can learn from this short passage of scripture. The first; watching our ways and keeping our tongue from sin is a good thing. Doing so will allow you to honor God in many more ways. Watching our ways and our tongue will allow us time to think, time to act, and time to move positively. However, while we guard our tongue we must be careful.

There is a time and place to share what is on your heart. Guarding your tongue means that you are calculated. But we cannot keep silent. When someone hurts you, you cannot just harbor that hurt in your heart and never say a word. If so you will fall into the problem David saw: A fire will burn inside and your heart will grow hot within you. What it means to guard your tongue is to watch what you say. Saying nothing is not good while saying the wrong thing is even worse. By guarding your tongue, you are choosing the right words to say at the right time to resolve whatever situation has sprung up.

So when your feelings get hurt or your temper flairs, when and how do you respond? How you tend to respond will show the level you watch your ways and keep your tongue from sin.