Weekly Devotional, "Whatever is Lovely", June 18, 2012

From Lenae, GEMS Training Manager

 

WHATEVER IS LOVELY

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

In the Peter Pan movie there’s a segment where the children are in their bedroom with Peter Pan, wishing they could fly. “How do you do it?” John asks Peter.

Peter answers, “You just think lovely, wonderful thoughts and they lift you up in the air.”

Lovely thoughts won’t make you or your flip-flops airborne, but they are exactly what God requires in Philippians 4:8. We are to think on whatever is lovely or acceptable to God.

That was David’s request when he prayed, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14). Within Psalm 104 a similar plea is made: May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD (v. 34).

For sacrifices to be acceptable to God, specific requirements needed to be met. The priests needed to be clean, the sacrifice needed to be without defect, and the person offering the sacrifice needed to be sincere in repentance and worship.

David is approaching God, offering His mind as a sacrifice to Him. He’s asking that his words – the ones he speaks from his lips and the self-talk he speaks in his mind – meet God’s requirements.

What kind of words do you speak aloud and to yourself?

In her book, Silver Boxes: The Gift of Encouragement, Florence Littauer writes about a delightful children’s sermon that unfolds based on Ephesians 4:29, Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 

As she spoke to the children about how our words should minister grace and be presents to one another, a “precious little girl stood up, stepped into the aisle, and said loudly to the whole congregation, ‘What she means is that our words should be like little silver boxes with bows on top.’”

What a beautiful picture of what our words should be to each other AND a lovely illustration of what our words should be when we talk to ourselves! As God tests our self-talk, may He find that they’re lovely gifts fit for a King.

Think on it: Would you describe the words you say to yourself and about yourself as lovely? If not, make Psalm 19:14 your prayer today.

Wise, truthful words are never harsh or unkind. They are gracious. Even the hard truths we speak to ourselves should not be condemning.

Jennifer Rothschild