There’s an old saying, “If you’re going to eat your words, make sure they’re sweet”. That bears witness with the Word of God as well.  Can you think of any words you’ve said today that weren’t what you would have coming back upon you?  If so, this is for you.

About 20 years ago the LORD spoke something to me that has stuck with me ever since.  He said, “The reason people don’t believe MY words is because they don’t believe their own words.  If they make their own word good, then they’ll have no trouble believing Mine.” That statement has a lot of implications for all of us.  The Lord Jesus said something very startling in Mark 11:23-24:
Mar 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Mar 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Do you believe that?  Apparently, most people don’t.  And here’s the proof:  Most of us have said at some time things like, “That tickles me to death”, or, “I’m just dying to do that”. Are you DEAD?  NO?  Then obviously you didn’t believe what you said, because according to what Jesus said, you WOULD be dead.  But there are things we say that we probably DO mean, things like, “Nothing ever turns out right for me.”, or, “I always run out of money before I run out of month.” And do you know what?  They’re telling the truth, because that’s the way it is with them!  You talk about eating your words!  Those are the kind of words you don’t want to eat.

Pro_6:2  Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
Pro_13:2  A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.
Pro_16:24  Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
Pro_18:21  Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
Pro_21:23  Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
Pro_29:20  Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
Ecc_10:12  The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.
Jer_7:8  Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

And there are many others besides.  But the point is,  the words we speak every day affect not only ourselves, but others as well.  No doubt some of you grew up being told you were stupid, or fat, or some other derogatory term, and did it affect you?  Sure it did, and some of you, to this very day.

But getting back to believing God’s Words, we need to realize we say many things every day that are not so, things in jest, or just out of habit.  Yet our LORD tells us if we believe those things in our heart and doubt not, we WILL have what we say.  So….shouldn’t we make the effort to say the things we really want, instead of worthless and meaningless junk we DON’T WANT?  I’ve heard people say, “Every time the flu comes around I catch it.” Is that what they really want?  No, but they are trapped with their own words because that’s what they have come to believe in their heart.  As for myself, I’ve developed a long-standing habit of saying “I’m healed by the stripes of Jesus, He bore all my sickness and diseases, therefore I never get sick.” And I don’t.  You see, I’m eating my words, just like YOU do.  But the difference is what I’m speaking, versus what you may be speaking.

I’m no more loved by God than you are, let’s settle that right now.  But when your words work against you, God cannot break His own Word to help you.  Rather, He sends people like me in your path to try to set things right in your life.  Things may not turn around instantly like magic, but they will turn if you will be consistent.  Just like planting seeds in the ground, only in fairy tales like “Jack and the Beanstalk” do seeds sprout and grow instantly.  In real life, the Bible talks about “SEED, TIME, HARVEST”.  And it works in that order: you plant the seed, and in time it grows and when the time is ripe, you get your harvest.
Some will dismiss that, saying our words don’t work like that, and well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, even if it’s wrong.  But the Bible clearly tells us the outcome of our words, and you can argue with me, but you can’t argue with God.  Well, you CAN, but only a fool does that….

How much better our lives would be if we were more careful with our words.  You know, sometimes it’s like handing a little kid a loaded gun to play with, and we all know how stupid that would be, for it would only be a matter of time before they figured out how to pull the trigger, and the devastation that could result.  We read about stuff like that in the news, and it should make us pay attention.  Words going forth cannot be called back, any more than a bullet fired from a gun can be called back.  Yet, we open our mouths and spout out stuff that comes back to hurt us, without even giving it a thought.  We can tell someone “I’m sorry”, but that never makes it as good as if it had never been spoken in the first place. And you know that is the truth.

It is written in Proverbs 17:28, Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. That means even a fool who keeps his mouth shut is counted as having understanding.  If you’re going to say something hurtful to yourself or others, keep your mouth shut and you will avoid the hurt.  And that includes saying anything that does not edify or build up.  If you’re going to eat your words, make sure they’re sweet!!  Your life has been, is being, and will be shaped by your words, whether you like it or not.  That’s just the way it is.  You may not like gravity, but it doesn’t matter, gravity works whether you like it or not, or whether you believe in it or not, that’s just the way God made it.  Let me put it like this: if you don’t believe in gravity, let me hold a bowling ball over your foot and let go of it.  I promise you that you WILL very quickly believe in gravity.  Oh, you may not like it, but it will make a believer out of you nonetheless.

The Lord Jesus both warned us and encouraged us by revealing Mark 11:23-24 to us, and it would be to our distinct advantage to heed His words.  Just think, King David asked God to put a watch over his mouth so he would not speak wrong stuff.  Can’t WE take a cue from that and do the same?  Think about how much better your life could be this time next month or next year if you diligently applied this lesson to your speech.  Now, pay attention to what the Lord Jesus said:
Mat_12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Luk_6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Before you’re going to make any lasting change in what comes out of your mouth, you must first change what’s in your heart.  That comes by diligent study of the Word of God.  Forget what you “think” you know.  If you go into the Word of God with an open heart and let God open His Word to your understanding, you will likely find you really don’t know all you think you do, and much of what you do know, you don’t understand.  Here’s another good one:
Isa 1:19  If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

Many say they are willing, but in truth they are not, for they feel they don’t deserve the LORD’S blessings, but that’s merely a lie from the devil to keep them out of God’s best.  It isn’t “Whosoever deserves it”, but “whosoever will”.  So…..it might as well be YOU, right?
Rev_22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Others are not obedient to God’s Word.  Obedience comes from the heart, which brings forth a change in your words, which brings about the change of your circumstances.  God promises if you be willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.  Now that’s GOD’S Word, do you believe it, or not?  If you believe it, then DO IT.  God is good for His Word, but are YOU good for yours?

If you start speaking God’s Word out of your mouth, which is always true, you will start seeing His Word work in your life.  Then finally you will realize the words you speak are true and that in turn will make you more confident in God’s Word.  It works like a snowball rolling down a hill, it just gets bigger and more powerful as it goes.  That, in turn, will help you keep better track of what comes out of your mouth, speaking only that which agrees with God’s Word.  Then you will start seeing the power that is in the words Jesus spoke in Mark 11:23-24, which will absolutely change your life!  It doesn’t matter how bad it is for you right now, or how long it’s been that way, God’s Word coming out of your mouth continually will change your life for good .  God has already empowered His Words to work for you. But it’s up to you to use it. Remember, if you’re going to eat your words, make sure they’re sweet!