May 29, 2020
Words that Breathe Life into Weary Friend
Sharon Jaynes
Today’s Truth
Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones (Proverbs16:24 NIV).
Friend to Friend
Have you ever had times when you felt like you just couldn’t breathe? Stress weighs you down and the “to-do list” becomes the “too-much to do list.” Sometimes we just need a friend to come and breathe life into us. And one of the ways they do that is with words.
When I was in my teens, I went scuba diving with some friends. I had no training and probably shouldn’t have been in deep water, but I was a teenager and threw caution to the wind. The guy who took me below the surface of the deep, another teenager I might add, strapped an oxygen tank on his back, a mask on his face, and flippers on his feet. I only had a mask and flippers.
“Where’s my oxygen?” I asked.
“I’ve got it,” he answered as he patted the tank on his back.
So, into the ocean we jumped. He put his arm around my waist as though I were a sack of potatoes and down we went. John drew oxygen from the tank and then passed the breathing apparatus to me. We took turns breathing in the oxygen in what he called “buddy breathing.” It then occurred to me that I was totally dependent on this boy to keep me alive!
This was not a very smart idea, but it did leave me with a great life lesson…Buddy Breathing. Throughout my life, the words of my friends have been like oxygen when I feel as though I’m drowning. Even today, I have a mental scrapbook of the life-giving words passed along to me when I felt I was suffocating.
King Solomon painted a beautiful portrait of the power of a woman’s words to her friends in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10,12 (NIV).
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If they fall down, they can help each other up. But pity those who fall and have no one to help them up!…A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
He also wrote: Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones (Proverbs16:24 NIV). Life-giving. Soul-nourishing. Buddy-breathing.
We can embrace a friend with words that warm a chilled soul, words that fill an empty heart, and words that lift her up when she is lying face down in defeat. I'm so glad that friendship was God’s idea, aren’t you? Not only do we need those kinds of friends, we need to be that kind of friend.
Let’s Pray
Heavenly Father, thank You for being a friend who breathes life into my aching soul. I ask that You give me one friend with whom I can be totally honest and completely loved. One friend whom I can encourage and who can encourage me. Help me to be a woman who not only needs from others but one who gives to others. Help me be a speaker of life.
In Jesus’ Name.
Amen
Now It’s Your Turn
Read Luke 1:26-45. Do you think Mary felt like she just had the wind knocked out of her with Gabriel’s announcement in Luke 1:26-38?
How do you think Elizabeth’s words to Mary made her feel in vv39-45?
Who told Mary about Elizabeth in the first place?
Why do you think God wanted Mary to go to Elizabeth?
What can you deduct from this story about the importance of godly girlfriends?
More from the Girlfriends
CLICK HERE to sign up for Sharon’s FREE 5 DAY TAMING THE TONGUE CHALLENGE
Sharon’s re-released and updated version of her best-selling book and Bible study guide, The Power of a Woman’s Words: How the Words You Speak Shape the Lives of Others are hot off the press. They include new content, including a chapter on the power of a woman’s words to her adult children…it’s complicated! Perfect for your women’s ministry’s next Bible study!
- exchange careless words that hurt for intentional words that help others succeed
- recognize words that tear down confidence and replace them with words that build others up
- overcome the negativity that pushes people away and become a well of positivity that draws others in
- tame your tongue by practicing practical principles that help you think before you speak
- stop being disappointed in your lack of control by taking hold into the power of the Holy Spirit
Originally published Friday, 29 May 2020.
SHARE
