August 10, 2021 was not a good day for my wife and I. As we were returning to southern Indiana after dropping our daughter back at college up north, we were rear ended by a yellow pick-up truck travelling around 100 mph! He knocked us over into a concrete barrier. The car was mashed in on both ends (the rear end was crushed in 16 inches and the front was demolished up to our windshield. I was cut up and my back and neck were hurting. I looked over at my wife and she said her chest and leg were hurting; her leg was pointed in a several directions.
But here’s what I want you to know: When we got to the hospital, the doctors were amazed: “You don’t have any concussions and there’s no internal injuries; they couldn’t believe neither of us passed out at the collision.” (She had a broken sternum, leg and dislocated ankle; I had a broken part of my lower back.) Angels were watching out for us.
Since then, Dana has regained mobility and is recovering, the cuts on my body have cleared up and I’m doing well (albeit a little slow at times in moving). We both would love for the healing process to be over, but we know that God makes promises that He’ll bring us through the valley. We can see God’s hand at work in our lives and He’s helping us overcome.
Out of the Abundance of the Heart…
Dana and I went through a challenge, a crisis. When we first realized that the collision occurred, we both cried out, “Jesus, help us!” After the collision – when the destroyed car came to a stop – I looked at Dana and said, “God has not forsaken us. God has proven Himself true to us; we’ll see His glory manifested in this and we will not give up on any of His promises for all of them are ‘Yes’ and ‘Amen.'” When I said those words, Dana was going, “Yes, yes, yes…”
In crisis, whatever is in your heart is going to come out of your mouth.
The world wants to tell you if you’ve gone through a bad time it’s because either you’ve done something wrong or God has turned His back on you. But we know we have an adversary who was trying to “take us out.” A week later – after we were released from the hospital and were in our living room at home – another car came barreling toward us. A woman had lost control of her car and it headed straight for our living room wall. At the very last moment, the car jerked off to the side and only cleared out our porch, protecting us from an impact.
The woman wasn’t able to steer the car because she (for some bizarre reason) was sitting in the passenger seat. So what caused it to veer? (Better to say, who caused it veer?)
When we talk about the ministry of angels, sometimes we think of it in a very ethereal, spooky, “way out” way, but the fact is, they are right here with us; they are always looking for the opportunity to show themselves.
One of the things that always triggers angelic work is faith being released. And the evidence of faith – what’s in our heart – is what comes out of our mouth! “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks!” (Luke 6:45) It’s important for us to have God’s promises fill our hearts. We need to speak them and believe them. How we talk is telling as to what we believe…our persuasion is our conversation.
Look at David as an example:
“1 I love the Lord, because He has heard [and now hears] my voice and my supplications. 2 Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live. 3 The cords and sorrows of death were around me, and the terrors of Sheol (the place of the dead) had laid hold of me; I suffered anguish and grief (trouble and sorrow). 4 Then called I upon the name of the Lord: O Lord, I beseech You, save my life and deliver me! 5 Gracious is the Lord, and [rigidly] righteous; yes, our God is merciful. 6 The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He helped and saved me. 7 Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. 8 For You have delivered my life from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling and falling. 9 I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. 10 I believed (trusted in, relied on, and clung to my God), and therefore have I spoken [even when I said], I am greatly afflicted.” – PSALMS 116:1-10 (AMPC)
Notice a few things: David was definitely going through a challenge! But, what was in his heart and how did he respond to that challenge? David called upon the Lord! And He declared the Lord’s goodness and His ability to deliver. In other words, he spoke because he believed! WE speak because we believe!
“We speak because we believe!”
Whatever we really believe about is what we’ll talk about. In day-to-day living, we may not have to stand upon certain promises of God…but it’s in those times when a challenge or crisis arrives, what we speak is going to come out of us. God’s words are sure and true; He is faithful and esteems His word even above His name!
This is why we speak God’s Word! This is why we keep it strong in our hearts! This is WHY WE SPEAK!
To watch the October 3, 2021 service on which this post is based, CLICK HERE.
