Our words...

"What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'...The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean'" (Matthew 15:11,18 NIV).

I am queen of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. I usually just say what I think! It most likely comes from how I am feeling. Just as our words can encourage, they tear down even harder. Encouragement goes a long way! The hard part is that it takes twice as many encouraging words to fix the discouraging words that hurt them.

This story of Isaiah brings to light God's power and forgiveness over our mistakes.


I imagine Isaiah was feeling pretty good about himself, being called by God to prophesy to this irksome people. But just when he got out the sixth woe, God decided to hold up the mirror of His holiness in which Isaiah saw his own sin. And where did the sin manifest itself? His words.



God doesn't convict us of our sin to condemn us. He reveals our sin to bring us to repentance and change. Just as God sent the Holy Spirit to the believers at Pentecost in the form of flaming tongues, He sent a coal to set Isaiah's tongue afire with cleansing power. The seraph touched Isaiah's tongue with the burning coal and then announced that his guilt was taken away.



Now Isaiah was ready to go out into the world and proclaim God's message to His people and his "woe is me" was transformed into "Here am I send me."



Isaiah didn't need to change his eating or drinking habits, he didn't need to alter his outward appearance, or take extra classes at the local seminary. Isaiah needed to have his words purified and fortified so God could be properly glorified.


If God thought it necessary to deal with Isaiah's tongue before he embarked on his heavenly assignment then we should not think it would be any different for you and for me. But did you notice that God did the cleansing? It takes more than washing our mouths out with soap to be a woman of clean lips. It takes the power of the Holy Spirit and the touch of God. Our part is to cooperate with Him, submit our words to Him, fill our lives with Him, and live our lives through Him.