The Power of Our Words and Actions
She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. Proverbs 31:26
From the beginning of the Book of Genesis, we have read
Eve’s story and we know her unwise power of influence convinced Adam to sin
against God and cause the fall of all mankind. Also throughout the bible it
shows us the difference between Wise Women and Foolish Women.
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Proverbs 31:30
To name a few foolish women from the bible were:
Lot’s wife: Mrs. Lot
not only moved into Sodom, but Sodom moved into her. As the bible explains it,
the city of Sodom was shameless, immoral, and entirely sex-perverted. I imagined
she was the type of woman who loved fine things and the social activities
fascinated her from the beginning. I imagined her caught up in the excitement
of sinful pleasures. She loved the world
more than she loved God so because of her unwise decisions caused her to turn
into a pillar of salt. {The book of Genesis }
Vashti: Many who has
read the story of Vashti, has different opinions of how they view her life, many
agree with her disobedience of not coming to the king when he asked for her
presence to be paraded among drunken men, but there was far more that was
hidden within Vashti – Vashti, in my opinion was not a wise woman, because a
wise woman would have used her beauty and her influence of words without putting herself in
a position of losing her royal crown.
Vashti, misused her beauty and the power and authority that was given to
her, she was prideful in all the wrong ways which caused her to loose her royal
position and be replaced. {The Book of Esther}
Jezebel: Talk about evil, Jezebel was the wickedest of woman
in the bible - Jezebel was courageous, bold and a very determined woman. She
was an outspoken woman in a time when females have little status and few
rights. She was a princess, a daughter
of a king before she prostituted herself to become the queen and she became the
power behind the throne. Jezebel used
her influence to get whatever she wanted from her husband and he became her
puppet. Apart from idol worship, witchcraft
and pure wickedness Jezebel also used the spirit of domination and seduction to
get her ways. She had no respect or fear
of God. Her words and actions were perverted and she was the foolish of them
all and paid a terrible price. Jezebel lived for quite a while before God's judgment
caught up with her. She was thrown from an upper story window, where she was
then trampled to bits by horses in the street. Dogs then came and ate her body,
leaving only the skull, feet and hands. It was a horrible end for a wicked
unwise woman. (The Books of 1 King & 2 King)
*These women had the power and the authority to make a
positive difference in their lifetime if they would have chosen wise words and actions, but they chose to be disobedient, prideful and had no fear of God, so they paid with their lives, as it tells us in Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, although it didn't mention in the book of Esther
that Vashti had died but her dreams died along with her unwise decisions.* Unfortunately an unwise woman is often a tool used by Satan to undermine the wholesomeness of God’s Purpose into today’s world.
The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. Proverbs 31v1
To name a few wise woman from the bible are:
Esther: Although God
was never mentioned in the book of Esther, it clearly shows us that God was in
the center of Esther’s life. Esther knew God can not use a prideful woman so
she allowed herself to be prepared for what was ahead of her. She knew that fasting and prayer would bring
her closer to God. She was well aware that she needed God's favour in order for
her to succeed and be the next Queen, she patiently waited on God and her
obedience paid off for Esther finished what Vashti didn’t. {The Book of Esther}
Ruth: Ruth understood
the importance of obedience and her wish to obey God made her strong. She
submitted under the authority of her wise mother in laws advises She gave up
everything from her past to be submissive and obedient to God. Ruth laid still at the *threshing floor,
awaiting for her Redeemer. Because of her obedience and loyalty and trust in God, all through this story we see how God gave Ruth good gifts because she was
true to him. {The book of Ruth}
Deborah: Deborah
faced difficult challenges; she served as a judge and also the responsibilities
of being a wife and had a spiritual position as a prophetess, which means she
was in constant communication with God. Deborah was led by the spirit of God,
she was firm and courageous because she knew that her strength came from a
Living God and she believed God would fulfill His word regardless of how
impossible the situation looked and as a result of her obedience and
faithfulness to God, she led others to battle and brought victory to God’s
people. Deborah was also a true worshiper. She worshiped God with songs of
praise with humbleness and a grateful heart. {The Book of Judges}
*These women and many more women in the bible choose to make
a positive difference in their lifetime and left a legacy for all women of all
walks of life to follow. They chose to let God be the center of their lives
and God's purpose was fulfilled for all mankind to see and live by. *
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. Proverbs 31:25
A Wise
woman with a meek and quiet spirit can represent the fruits of God’s Spirit
with unquestionably demonstration of the true power of God’s purpose in today’s
world. We have the power to speak life
or death, power to heal or destroy over our marriages, our family and others
and to every situation. In Proverbs 10:11 tells us: The mouth of the righteous
is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Also, never underestimate the power of our
actions, even with one small gesture, you can truly change a person’s life—for
better or for worse or change your circumstances for better or for worse.
It took me a long time to realize how the power of my words
and actions affected me, my circumstance and others around me and to be honest
for many years I spoke death with my
words and teared down with my actions. But today, I thank God for his grace and
mercy that I was given another chance to use my words to speak life and my
actions to built up. The idea of being a wise woman through every stage of life
challenges me more so to step out of the old and into the new. At this stage in my life I've learned the power
of prayer; I have learned the importance of fasting; I have learned that being
submissive doesn't mean to be controlled; I have learned that being under
authority, doesn't mean you lose your rights; I have learned to humble myself;
I have learned to live by faith; I have learned to wait on God; I have learned
to serve God before men. I have learned to take the good from the bad; I have
learned to forgive; I have learned to be still and let God work in my favor and
still I have much more to learn, I have much more to forgive, I have much more
to overcome and I have much more battles to fight but this I know, I refuse to follow in the footsteps of the
actions and words of a foolish woman. I
want to use my words and actions to be a strong force in the lives of people
that I touch beginning in my home.
To Conclude: God has
called us as wives, mothers, sisters and friends to use our influence of words
and actions and to be His witness at home and in our community. Fasting
and praying and spending time in the Word of God and submitting ourselves to the obedience of God, can transform us to become World-changers! And whatsoever we do in word or deed, do
all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father. Colossians 3:17
She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Proverbs 30:27
Written by Maribel Castillo
April 23, 2013