Surrendered Speech

Everyone understands signs of surrender -- I quit, you win, game over.  At least Mr. Bill knew when the ping pong game was over; I did not surrender quietly.

 

Surrender of speech is certainly much harder than waving a white flag.  Oh, how many times has my mouth engaged before my brain!  Proverbs 18:21 confirms what we already know: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”  Isn’t it interesting His speech was one of the things Jesus surrendered as He stood before Pilate:  “ … He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge … “ (Matthew 27:14)  Spurgeon comments on Christ’s silence in court: “Did it show that He would not utter a word to stay the slaughter of His sacred person which He had dedicated as an offering for us?  Had He so entirely surrendered Himself that He would not interfere in His own behalf, even in the minutest degree, but be bound and slain an unstruggling, uncomplaining victim?”  He refers to a patient  silence” as Christ’s reply.  It is not human nature, however, to remain silent or even of a quiet spirit when instead we can offer defense or explanation. Words spoken in anger, bitterness, or at the height of some dramatic moment rarely serve us well. Silence, however, is seldom misquoted and often wise representation of a surrendered spirit to a Sovereign God Who masters every committed moment in a Believer’s life.  I am sure God could use less interference from me and how blessed I will be if I begin with … surrendered speech.