I was listening to a powerful teaching about our speech, when the verse above was highlighted. The Holy Spirit brought conviction to my heart, saying that I had become so afraid of saying something wrong, that I was not following His leadership when He directed me to confront others about their sin. Then I saw the Message Bible translation of this verse: "We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths." (James 3:2 MSG) I have to tell you that hearing this truth brought me a new sense of freedom in the area of my words. Why? Because God doesn't expect me to be "perfect," as the verse above says. If I were, I wouldn't need a Savior.

I am sharing this message with you because I believe that most Christians today are so afraid of saying something wrong - and ruining their witness - that we are remaining silent when we should be opening our mouths and speaking up for God. And we are losing more and more ground to Satan and his evil cohorts.

If you have received Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you are equipped with the Spirit of God to speak for Him. There are promises in Scripture to back you up in every situation that you will encounter in this life. Jesus said: "Don't worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. For it is not you who will be speaking - it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." (Matthew 10:19-20 NLT) If you will step out on the basis of this promise when the Lord leads you to, He will use you to touch and change lives in an eternal way.

When you walk in close fellowship with God throughout each day, He will prompt you when He wants to use your mouth to speak to someone on His behalf. You will sense a stirring in your spirit, and that's your cue to pray, "Lord, do You want me to say something to this person now? If so, please give me the right words at the right time. And please prepare their heart in advance to be receptive to my words." Sometimes, the Holy Spirit will tell you to wait until a more opportune time.

I will be honest and tell you that there have been times when I confronted people about their sin, and I lost my temper and said all the wrong things. Thankfully, the end result was still positive because God saw my heart, and He intervened on my behalf because He knew that I was just trying to obey Him. Is there someone in your life who the Lord might want YOU to confront today?

Prayer: Lord, help me to not be so afraid of saying the wrong thing in a situation that I remain silent when You want me to speak. Remind me often that Your Spirit dwells in me, and that You are always available to give me the right words at the right time. Thank You that as I walk in close fellowship with You each day, the proper answer of my tongue will come from You! (Proverbs 16:1 NIV)