Changing our Woe-is-Me Talk to Faith Talk

Our dear friend, Stephanie Boosahda, songwriter and award-singing Christian artist, wrote and sang this song. “Let your faith do the walking; let the Spirit do the talking. Let the love of Jesus shine in all you do. Let your faith do the walking and the Spirit do the talking. Let His Word come alive and dwell in you.” Stephanie was one of those “Word” people who determined to live and write songs that were positive, optimistic, and faith-filled. We determined to be those people. We were done with woe-is-me and downer songs and way-of-living.

Our Life Group, precious Tulsa friends who are “lifers” with me, meet weekly via Zoom. The timing was perfect for us to rekindle our friendship and fellowship at the start of this year. This week we reminded ourselves of what we did well. We talked “faith-talk”. We prayed with undaunted prayers and, on this day, were praising God for the miracle that two of these women (related by the marriage of their two children) witnessed. On this day, the miracle is 5 years old. We celebrated that “He Answered” our prayers. Precious Ragan was simply a desire and prayer when we women prevailed in faith. I loved what the cookies said at the baby shower a while later. “He Answered”. Faith talk and faith-filled prayers created a pathway for the miracle.

It’s a work-out to stay positive and to speak with optimism and hope-filled and faith-filled in a negative world, but that work-out (i.e., training) rewards us with attitudes that cause us to soar above the gray skies and “gray” people and circumstances. Keeping our words AND actions positive and encouraging is equally as important to us and to others.

People often ask me “What’s the secret to all that positive energy and enthusiasm you have?” The answer is “faith talk”. I practice it daily. Sure, there’s always reasons to complain, talk about all the “bad stuff”, bemoan the new administration and get all tangled up in the news “he said; she said”. But there’s so many more reasons to turn negative attitudes on their heels and replace them with positive, life-changing words that have the potential of altering the course of our day and the people we talk to or listen to.

Choosing “faith talk” over “woe is me talk” moves us into a “sweet spot” that draws good things to us. It’s the law of attraction. We get what we speak out and think about. And it’s just not the “talk”, it’s the walk — the walk of knowing that “with God, nothing is impossible”. This has been the case in my life. It’s the kind of talk that says things like “God is bigger than this obstacle.” It’s like being plugged into an energy source when we talk this talk. It puts a spring in our step. We see sunshine on a cloudy day.

I know how powerful our words can be, and I also know from experience, that our words can determine our world. Let’s make a habit of speaking faith-filled words of hope and expectancy that something GOOD is about to happen. If our mouth fills our heart with words of faith when we don’t need it; then our heart will fill our mouth with words of faith when we do need it!

“For out of the abundance of his heart, a man (or woman) speaks.” Luke 6:45
“The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” Proverbs 18:21