Psalm 81:8-10

“Hear, O My people, and I will warn you— if you would but listen to Me, O Israel! You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not bow down to an alien god. I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.”

Why is it that we frequently have little difficulty thinking of things to say about virtually every subject under the sun? We can talk about the weather, sports–even politics, but when it comes to speaking about spiritual matters, we suddenly are struck dumb.

There are forms of greeting which are alternatives to saying hello. One of these is: “How are you?” It is not said by way of a request for the person to give you a physical disclosure, but it is merely a form of greeting. Have you noticed that there are some people you do not want to greet in this way? Let me explain.

I recall one senior adult pastor making a comment that you wanted to be careful when you visited with those in nursing homes in using this greeting. I thought he was making a small joke until I happened to be making a call a short time later to a nursing home. I greeted one of the residents by saying, “How are you, Martha?” I was immediately subjected to a complete physical description of her various ailments.

Since we can speak easily about things that are of importance to us, does this imply that when we are not able to talk about spiritual things that they are unimportant to us? I pray that is not so.

It seems as if the problem may be that we have a fear that we may say the wrong thing or be asked questions that we will not be able to answer. There is no doubt that Satan is the originator of these doubts and fears.

Today’s passage of Scripture from Psalm 81 gives us a tremendous amount of assurance. It is not what we know that counts (although that is very important), but it is our willingness to allow the Lord to fill our mouth. It takes courage to take this step of faith, but the promise is clear that the Lord will give us the words to speak.

A young man was being discipled by a mature believer. They had been studying on the best way to conduct personal follow-up and sharing the gospel. The young man was very shy by nature and told his discipler that he would be glad to go along on the visits, but that he would never be able to present the gospel himself.

His mentor was understanding and prayed that the Lord would work with this young man. After being present as the gospel was shared and when several prayed to receive the Lord and their personal Savior, he suddenly asked if he might take the lead.

He told his mentor that he had a friend at a college nearby, and he was concerned about his soul. They went to the dorm and after a short conversation, the young disciple started sharing about the Lord. He made many errors, misquoted several of the Scriptures, and did not follow the outline that his discipler had taught him.

When he finished his appeal to his friend, he asked him, “Well do you want to accept Jesus or not?” A curt question that you would not generally think of using. To the surprise of the discipler, his friend replied, “I sure do! You made it so plain to me!”

What had happened? The young trainee had simply opened his mouth and the Lord had graciously filled it. It was with the words that a young student would accept and understand.

May we all be more willing than ever before to trust the Lord and allow Him to fill our mouths!

Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.

- - - Pastor Cecil