I wanted so badly to reply but I bit my tongue. I felt the color rising in my face as I hung up the phone. Several remarks filed through my mind like a multiple choice question on a dreaded standardized test. I landed on none of the above, took a deep breath, and went back to loading dishes in the dishwasher. Are there lessons you’ve had to learn repeatedly? One thing for which I’m constantly repenting is speaking when I should hold my tongue. There are times I should probably speak up and don’t but some comments are best left unanswered.
Thoughts are the same as words to God. My brother shared this quote on his Instagram page this week and though I neglected to remember the author, the words have been on my mind and I’ve shared them aloud with others several times. In her lyrics to Indescribable, Laura Story penned, “You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same. You are amazing, God!” If I’m shocked by Jesus’s command to forgive seventy times seven times, it’s only because I’ve failed to realize how many times I require forgiveness, not in a day but in a moment. I sin without even opening my mouth.
“Lord, you know everything there is to know about me.
You perceive every movement of my heart and soul, and you understand my every thought before it even enters my mind.
You are so intimately aware of me, Lord.
You read my heart like an open book and you know all the words I’m about to speak before I even start a sentence!“
Psalms 139:1-6 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/psa.139.1-6.TPT
“Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips [to keep me from speaking thoughtlessly].”
Psalms 141:3 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/psa.141.3.AMP
“You can be sure of this: when the day of judgment comes, everyone will be held accountable for every careless word he has spoken.
Your very words will be used as evidence, and your words will declare you either innocent or guilty.””
Matthew 12:36-37 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/mat.12.37.TPT
Jesus is our supreme example for speaking the right words at the right time. We can learn much from studying the gospels, especially the words in red. The people of His day were amazed by Jesus’s teaching. He spoke as one with great authority. Even as a boy in the temple, the same leaders who would later seek His life were awestruck by His understanding and the wisdom with which He answered their questions. (Luke 2:47) By the end of His brief ministry, His audiences were polarized. There was no ambivalence. He was either loved or hated. In our day, not much has changed. On the day He was crucified, Jesus stood trial before the Sanhedrin and the Roman court in Jerusalem. Pilate, the Roman governor, tried to release Jesus, finally attempting to wash his hands of the entire mess.
“The Jews answered him, “We have a law [regarding blasphemy], and according to that law He should die, because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.” [Lev 24:16]
So when Pilate heard this said, he was [even] more alarmed and afraid.
He went into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?”
But Jesus did not answer him. [Is 53:7]
So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?”
Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me at all if it had not been given to you from above.
For this reason the sin and guilt of the one who handed Me over to you is greater [than your own].””
John 19:7-11 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/jhn.19.7-11.AMP
“Pilate said, “Don’t you hear these allegations?”
But Jesus offered no defense to any of the charges, much to the great astonishment of Pilate.
Then they crucified Jesus, nailing his hands and feet to the cross.
The soldiers divided his clothing among themselves by rolling dice to see who would win them.
And the soldiers stood there to watch what would happen and to keep guard over him.
Above his head they placed a sign that read, “This is Jesus of Nazareth, King of Israel.”
Two criminals were also crucified with Jesus, one on each side of him.
And those who passed by shook their heads and ridiculed him, saying, “We heard you boast that you could destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days! Why don’t you save yourself now? If you’re really God’s Son, come down from the cross!”
Even the ruling priests, with the Jewish scholars and religious leaders, joined in the mockery and kept on saying, “He saved others, but he can’t even save himself! Israel’s king, is he? He should pull out the nails and come down from the cross right now; then we’ll believe in him!
He puts his trust in God, so let’s see if it’s true, and see if God really wants to rescue him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”
Even the two criminals who were crucified with Jesus began to taunt him, hurling their insults on him.”
Matthew 27:13-14, 35-44 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/mat.27.14-44.TPT
Why the silence now? Why don’t You save Yourself? It’s no doubt what any of the bystanders would expect given the obvious power and authority wielded by Jesus. It’s secretly what the disciples and followers of Jesus wanted- a miracle, a spectacular, stunning reversal that day on Golgotha. Mary, His mother, most of all must have wept with abandon knowing the Son of God as she did, loving Him with a mother’s heart that felt the weight of responsibility for His every move, wanting to comfort, to intervene, to redirect, but her hands were tied and this moment would forever be etched in her mind like so many others. How will He get out of this? He can’t possibly get out of it this time, but He has to, and I have to hold onto hope.
By His silent assent to His own death, Jesus chose more than all we could ask or imagine. He willingly surrendered to death and the grave for a split second, a mere breath on heaven’s time, to save you and me, and all who tried and crucified Him- all responsible for His death in every generation, all who would ever believe. His silence may have been mistaken for weakness, helplessness, guilt, or resignation but He answered those charges from the cross. From His uttered, “My God, My God,” to “it is finished,” Jesus fulfilled what was spoken by the prophets about Him to the letter and He continues to fulfill prophecy until the day of His promised return.
“The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him.
All the families of the nations will bow down before him. For royal power belongs to the Lord. He rules all the nations.
Our children will also serve him.
Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.
His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born.
They will hear about everything he has done.”
Psalms 22:27-28, 30-31 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.22.27-31.NLT
“And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.”
Mark 16:15 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mrk.16.15.NLT
“But someone might object and say, “One person has faith and another person has works.”
Go ahead then and prove to me that you have faith without works and I will show you faith by my works as proof that I believe.”
James 2:18 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/jas.2.18.TPT
Sometimes the best answer is action, not words.
Silence by JWLKRS Worship (2023)
A Fitting Reply 