What You Focus On You Empower
Many years ago when I first came onto the Area Team, I visited a Lighthouse and was pleased to meet the women in leadership. One by one, though, each pulled me aside and told me to watch out for Sister So and So. Although I asked each one why, the most definitive answer I got was, “Oh, you will see. Once you meet her, you will know.”
So with some trepidation, but also, with some excitement at who God was bringing me, I met Sister So and So. I smiled, greeted her warmly and held my arms open for a hug, which the other ladies had been quick to give to me first.
Sister So and So stayed put and stared at me, her mouth arching downwards in an unmistakable frown. So I tried again. “How are you? I am so happy to finally meet you!” This time, though, I held my hand out for a handshake.
She glared at my outstretched hand, as if it had seriously offended her. “Do not touch me!” she barked. “Don’t you know everything I touch is doomed to failure? Nothing good ever happens to me. So do not try to hug me, or shake my hand. You will catch all the bad things that have happened to me!”
I understood now what the other ladies had been warning me about. And yet, I felt for this woman. I knew her life must be as miserable as her expression.
As leaders, we are wise to remember that the words we speak, even when we are alone, need to be the language of Heaven. And yes, that means when we face frustrating or stressful circumstances. There really is no “venting”, or spewing out your negative feelings and emotions that are not edifying.
Graham Cooke says, “You bring down on yourself the words that you speak out, which is true in the flesh as it is true in the Spirit. If you confess negativity, it comes crashing down on you. Heaven’s perspective in Aglow creates a ruling voice on the earth. Let us redefine our language to flow at least with the spirit and power of Elijah.
“What are the things that you are meant to be confessing out loud in your Lighthouse?
- In the place where you live?
- In the place where you work?
- In the circumstances that you are in?
“Your confession, your language of Heaven, it is powerful! The language of Heaven coming into your life is powerful. The language that you speak into the earth has to carry the same weight of power.”
Ephesians 4:29 - Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers.
