His, Not Mine

Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.  See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”  Jer 1:9-10

As I was reading a section in Knowing God this morning, I was struck by Packer’s thoughts on the calling of Jeremiah.  Jeremiah was not royalty.  He was not a head of state, and there was no real reason why he should have any sway over nations and kingdoms.  But he did, and it was all because God’s Word was in Jeremiah’s mouth. 

There is amazing power in God’s Word.

I have struggled lately with my words and the question of their effectiveness in so many areas – church, blogs, correspondence and interaction with friends. But, my greatest struggle of late is the impact of my words on my children.  My oldest especially.  She seems to care nothing for what I say.  There is no power in my words to affect her behavior. 

But there’s power in His Word.

I am reminded today that my words truly are nothing when it comes to training and disciplining my children.  But God’s Word is everything.  The same power that simply spoke creation into existence is available to me for parenting if I will just tap into it.  So, I am challenged today to remember to use God’s Word with my children.  I am challenged to not even try to use my own, but to go directly to His for all things.  There is no wisdom in my own, and therefore no success.  But, anything that comes from His mouth holds power and success.  His words are what my children need.