“Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life. Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life. Words of life and beauty, teach me faith and duty; beautiful words, wonderful words; wonderful words of life,” so go the words of the old hymn by Philip Bliss. Those wonderful words of life are easily accessible to all of us every day right there in that wonderful old book we call the Bible.
Words can be devastatingly devilish or they can be heavenly good and helpful. Words are spoken, sung, signed, written and even eaten (consumed) as Jeremiah recorded in Ch. 15, V. 16, “Thy Words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.” They often are used to comfort, encourage, bless, guide, teach and warn or they can destroy relationships, ruin a testimony or even cause innocent people to end up in prison for life.
There is nothing quite so amazing as the precious words read, preached or sung when Jesus by the Holy Spirit speaks those words to the soul in our greatest hours of need. The prayer in song by Gene Routh and B. B. McKinney comes to mind, “Speak to my heart, Lord Jesus; speak that my soul may hear. Speak to my heart, Lord Jesus; calm every doubt and fear. Speak to my heart, oh, speak to my heart. Speak to my heart, I pray. Yielded and still, seeking Thy will; oh, speak to my heart today.”
The first thing we think of is when Jesus speaks forgiveness to the soul. Romans 3:23 declares that “All have sinned” and V. 19 tells us the whole world is guilty before God. There is no feeling quite like the burden of guilt and no relief like the forgiveness of God (Luke 18:13-14).
Then there are times when Jesus speaks purpose to our hearts. Maybe it is a lifetime of special ministry, maybe a call of God to teach a Sunday School class or special unrelenting burden to witness and share God’s salvation with one who does not know Christ as Savior. With the call comes the promise of power to perform what God has laid on the heart (Matthew 28:18-20).
When dreaded news comes to us with fear of the unknown, Jesus can speak peace to our souls just as He did to His disciples in the sinking ship. He gives us that peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7).
At times when the demands of life seem more than we can bear, He speaks words of rest as found in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you; and learn of me: for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
Finally in the deepest sorrows of life, we find His assurance that He will be there, “Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,” (Isaiah 53:4).
Whatever our guilt, ministry, fear, fatigue or sorrow, the wonderful words of our Lord are there to minister to our need. “Speak them to our hearts, Lord Jesus.”
— Randy Zinn is pastor of Russell Missionary Baptist Church, Russell, Ark.; formerly of Okmulgee.
