Learning to speak and learning to listen...

Isaiah 50:4 "The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning, He awakens my ear to hear as the learned."

God has been teaching me alot about the way I speak to people and today's message was on the topic of the way husbands and wives speak to each other. Pastor Hubbard used the verse above as a way to teach us what it means to learn how to speak and listen. Obviously, learning was the key word. "A trained tongue is not natural." I began thinking about different situations and how I usually react to them. I thought about all of the times I don't stop and think about the way my words effect those I'm speaking to. It was a very convicting thought! Pastor Hubbard went on to say that because this is so unnatural for us, we need to seek God daily for His help. If our hearts are teachable and sensitive to the Lord, He will help us speak words of love, encouragement, and support.

As he related this to husbands and wives, my eyes were opened to many things. I began to think about my relationship with Mike and wondered how many times my words were empty and thoughtless. I think something I struggle with is the way that I listen. "The reason the servant's tongue operated so productively was that his ears opened so consistently." What a powerful statement! Communication is so important in any relationship and your communication will only grow if you are both listening as well as speaking. Proverbs 21:9, 19 "Better to dwell in a corner of a house top, than in a house shared with a contentious woman.
Better to dwell in the wilderness than with a contentious and angry woman."
After Pastor read these verses he told us that women have powerful words that can either bring down or lift up their husbands. God is actually saying in these verses that men would be much better off in a corner of the house top or in a desert than with a nagging, angry woman! Then he drew us to Proverbs 31:26 "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is law of kindness." This woman understood that if her heart is centered on Christ and she desires to speak with His words, than her husband will be blessed by her words, not discouraged by them.

I want to be like that kind of woman! A woman whose words are full of grace and love, and a woman who is willing to listen with her ears and her heart. I have a long way to go with the whole communication thing (just ask Mike!) but I pray that as I listen and speak to him he will see a heart that's willing to learn how to listen to him and speak to him in a way that encourages and loves him.