Are you easily hurt?

In Proverbs 15:4 we can read about the effects of the tongue: “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but a false tongue hurts the heart.”

Many people have probably noticed that a false tongue can hurt the heart and are agreed that this is deplorable. However, it is a totally different matter that the person him­self is so easily hurt. When a person is confronted by a false tongue, why does he feel hurt? Why is he bothered by it for a long time?

It is absolutely not necessary. We can obtain an inner power and strength through the Holy Spirit, and through the grace that is in Christ Jesus we can overcome all evil. Think to be strengthened in your inner man so that you can overcome all things in your daily life even though you encounter people who do not have the victory, who have a false tongue or are vessels of dishonor. We are not to be defiled by such people; on the contrary, they must experience from us that good overcomes evil.

Then our tongue will become a tree of life; words of faith will flow from it and will be for salvation and blessings. We can partake of the victory which Christ offers us and which is possible for us, so that something totally new develops in our life! Instead of being hurt by evil, we are strengthened in our inner man to be victorious, and we obtain a com­pletely new life—the life of Christ.

Thanks and praise for such strength, for such power from God!