“Scalpel.”

You know those intensely stressful movie scenes in operating rooms?

The ones when the doctor is in full scrubs, he is staring through his glasses, and his eyebrows are all sweaty? 

He has the focus of the captain of a bomb squad. 

Then he firmly says to his nurse one word, “Scalpel.”

Immediately the nurse places a small, sharp blade in the doctor’s hand and he continues to operate. You know the type of scene I’m talking about? 

Well, you know what cuts sharper than a scalpel and deeper than the skin’s surface? 

Our words. 

Words are powerful. 

Proverbs makes it clear that “life and death are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21) 

With that being said, words have the power to heal, like the scalpel in that doctor’s hand doing surgery. But words can also harm. 

For instance, if that doctor took that scalpel and plunged it into the patient's chest, he would kill that patient. Sure it would be the SAME scalpel, in the SAME hand, but the difference is the HEART of the doctor behind it all.

If we want to bring life and healing to others with our words, we need to first let God, the great physician, operate on our hearts, first. 

Verses to consider:

“There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, But the tongue of the wise promotes health.”

Proverbs 12:18

“For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”

Proverbs 4:23

Your next steps:

Picture yourself as that doctor, and everyone you encounter is a patient of yours. Will they experience harm or healing when they come into your operating room today? 

Will your words come from a heart that extends God’s love to them? If you’re struggling to speak life to others, be honest. Don’t get discouraged, know that realizing you need God to do some heart surgery on you today, is the first step to getting back to a place where you can offer others life with your words. If your heart is not full of life, it will not be possible to share life with others. We are here to be agents of healing in this hurting world, and our words can help us live that out every day. But first, let’s make sure our hearts are in a healthy place, by letting God have the scalpel first. 

Much love,

Lowery