“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be
acceptable in thy sight O Lord my strength and my redeemer.”
The words of this Psalm stay fresh in my mind. Every Friday night for seven years during football season and before every competition performance we would recite this verse before taking the field to perform our half time show. Our band director would gather us in just before the second quarter ended and we would recite Psalm 19:14.
God often brings it to my mind. Many days my words fail at being acceptable. Most days really.
But still this verse is ingrained in my memory.
Unoffendable. As one of my two One Word 365 words, being unoffendable has been challenging. I’ve had to take deep breaths and tell myself not to take things personally. I’ve learned to immediately go to God when my feelings are hurt to protect my heart from the bitterness the enemy wants to plant. I pray for a thick skin and soft heart.
Many times He reminds me of this verse so often repeated that even twenty-one years later it comes instantly to my tongue.
Someone recently offended me. It was as if I didn’t have a right to my own opinion, that my own experience did not count. It made me feel stupid and worthless.
I struggled. I know this person did not intend to make me feel this way. I know this in my head. My heart wasn’t convinced though.
I almost instantly went to God. This Psalm came to mind and did almost continuously throughout the day.
“Let the words of my mouth and meditation of my heart be acceptable in they sight O Lord my strength and my redeemer.”
“Let your words and your heart be full of grace,” He whispers.
Oh.
My heart is so often not full of grace. So empty of grace.
But are there times when the words I speak offending others? While I have spent the year letting God teach me to be unoffendable, am I able to choose my words with care as not to offend?
It’s easy when I disagree with someone to think of myself as right and their opinion as wrong, but this meditation of my heart isn’t acceptable. It isn’t full of grace.
The only acceptable words that I can speak and meditation of my heart are grace.
Thankfully in those moments when my mouth and heart struggle to show grace He is my strength. And in those moments when they completely lack grace and are unacceptable He is my redeemer.
Do you struggle to keep the meditation of your heart full of grace when someone disagrees with you?
What verse did you learn as a child that always comes to your tongue as easily as when you first learned it?
