God’s Gift of Words

 

By Karen Wingate

 

Words.

 

My lips form the word I see on my screen, causing me to note the subtle movements of my facial muscles. I repeat the word, this time giving voice to the motion, and sound waves whisk the whispered word from my mouth to my ears. I ponder the anatomy of the auditory—all that must be in place and work together so I can hear that one breath-filled word, words.

 

I am “awesomely and wonderfully made,” the psalmist tells me (Psalm 139:14 NASB). God created my mouth, ears, and brain to work together to produce words that arrange into coherent thought without my ever breaking into a sweat or needing to think about how it happens. It all comes from God. He is the one who gave us the design of sound. He designed us with the ability to both hear and make sound. He instilled within us the building blocks of language so He could communicate His love message to us and interact with us. All of it, a precious gift that I too often take for granted.

 

As a writer, I answer the call to construct those words into themes and ideas. God gives me free choice of how to arrange and rearrange words that have the potential to influence and motivate others toward His ways or my own selfish agenda. I can use His gifts of sound and language to praise Him and proclaim His message, or I can steal the praise and force single words to serve myself.

 

I’m not intentional about stealing the glory of words. Sound and hearing and language are such a part of life, I don’t stop to think about how it works or where it came from. But my recent awareness of who made the words and who made my mouth to speak and my ears to hear has turned these simple everyday life tools into treasured bits of divine glory. Each word any of us speaks or writes comes from God Himself.

 

I suspect that if you and I, as God’s scribes, paused to thank Him for all that makes up our message, perhaps our minds would overflow with the awesome privilege and responsibility we have to share the gifts of sound and language in ways that bring honor to the Giver. If we lingered in wonder at the complexity and creativity of all that stands behind our words, I predict that wonder would carry over into what we express.

 

Stop. Listen. Read what is on your screen. Read aloud the last bit you have written. All of it is a gift. Your ability is not your own. It comes from a heavenly Father who has given you everything you are and everything you have. Praise Him for the words He created and the ability He has given you to form those words into messages that honor Him before others.

 

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14, NASB)

 

Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com and Brett Jordan.

 

Karen Wingate has moved words on paper for most of her life. Starting as a work-for-hire children’s curriculum writer, she has also written hundreds of magazine articles and devotions, and eleven books, including the award winning With Fresh Eyes (Kregel, 2021). Karen currently writes for the Proverbs 31 Ministries Encouragement for Today devotional and will launch her latest book, With Open Ears: 60 Reflections on the Wonder of Sound from a Woman Born Blind (Kregel) in January 2025. You can connect with Karen on her website at www.karenwingate.com.