Whew! My children and I just finished reading the book, “Speak Life”, last night – hallelujah! This book is truly a great read, but it’s taken us forever to finally finish reading it. I’ve raised my children to enjoy reading and to look for literary elements in what they read, but most importantly, to seek God for whatever spiritual revelation He wants revealed to them from it. In case you’re wondering, no, we don’t just read Christian books; but you should seek wisdom from God pertaining to anything (you read, listen to, etc.).

So, why did it take us so long to read this book? They might say it’s because we paused a lot for discussion, and did so every time we picked it up (insert that emoji face here that’s dying in agony ‘uggh’ LOL). They’d be partially correct. I’d add that the reason we paused and discussed it so much was, primarily, because of the title itself. Every chapter in this book related back to the title and, in order to ‘speak life,’ you have to pay attention to so many things and on a consistent basis: who you’re talking to, who you’re allowing to talk to you, what you say to yourself, then Satan, and most of all, to God.

One of my favorite takeaways is where Brady Boyd, the author, says this: “We need to teach our kids how to ask good questions of those who are wise! But then, just as important, we must seek wisdom ourselves” (page 270). He goes on to say, “If as you survey the landscape of your relational life, you see a scarcity of wisdom, I want to give you permission today to ditch your foolish friends” (page 272). Oh, how right he is, and it’s biblically encouraged. Don’t believe me – read Proverbs 10:21, 11:14, then 26:4-5. None of this is to say that you can’t still love, pray for, or even break bread with those friends. After all, if you never share wisdom with them, you may be entrusting them solely to the remaining foolish friends they have. What it does imply is that you most certainly don’t need this person or these people to be your primary source of information or discussion.

On many occasions, I’ve supported the mantra that “there is no such thing as a stupid question.” As I age, I’m more apt to respond with, “that’s a lie before the Lord,” because some questions truly are just stupid. The Bible is not the easiest read in the world, I’ll admit, but if you read it often enough, so many things become clear. You have to seek wisdom from the right place and the right people. And some of the responsibility lies in how you pose your question(s). Say you walk into a supermarket and ask a cashier in the deli area, “how much is that fruit over there?” you may get a look that seems to say, ‘are you stupid?’ That’s because your question made no sense. Yes, it’s worded fine, it was just foolish to expect that clerk (1) to know what fruit you’re talking about or (2) possibly to know any prices of any of the fruit at all – you did go to the deli section!

People are already set to list out their New Year’s Resolutions, if they haven’t already. Many people who read devotionals or online studies are prepping for the 365-read of the Bible. The latter is a pretty good goal and can never be repeated enough, but if your daily routine doesn’t begin with seeking wisdom from the Lord on what to say, who to say it to, where to go, what to do, who to allow in or remove from your life, you’re just existing. You will no doubt continue to ask or be asked stupid questions. Let the Word of the Lord begin or do more to penetrate your heart so that your reply, at least, will be “seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6).

READ: James 3

LISTEN: Word of God Speak by Mercy Me https://youtu.be/JTY-UKgLlXs