Shabbat Schmooze:

Hebrew word of the week Davar (הַדָּבָר) Word

Words Matter

In our media-saturated world today, we are not lacking for words. We see people everywhere throwing them around, back and forth at each other all the time. Words constantly barrage our minds through the news feed, social media outlets, through people we interact with, through our own thoughts and from the enemy of our soul.

In our American culture, we see how people who express their different viewpoints without kindness or grace has led to the curse of division, separation and chaos. We also see how the lack of positive words impacts our society.

But the good news is that each one of us has the power to reverse that curse by sewing words of life into the atmosphere- whether it be the social atmosphere, the family atmosphere or the spiritual atmosphere.

Scripture says our words have power. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:22

The power of words started with God. Scripture says he spoke and amazing things happened. The universe and all that’s in it was created, along with every plant and creature and of course, mankind.

The Hebrew Understanding of Words

In Hebrew, the word Davar has two definitions:

It means “word”, but it also means “thing”, event or deed. In Hebrew thought, words aren’t just sounds, they are events. They make things happen. They hold power to change things.

Words That Can Change a Life

When you reflect on people in your life who have spoken positive words to or over you, can you recall how it changed something inside? Maybe it gave you the confidence to do something you were afraid to do, or maybe the words brought comfort in a place of pain. Whatever they were, those positive words had power in them. Power to heal, power to inspire, and power to fulfill purposes.

What or whose words are you loving or clinging to these days?

Yeshua’s statement in the gospel of Matthew, “Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God,” is extremely fitting for our time. Words have the power to bring us down or build us up and sustain us. If we’re mostly listening to the words around us that don’t come from God, it can leave us feeling famished, drained and empty. We need the emotional and spiritual nourishment of God’s word daily and consistently, just like we need the physical nourishment of good bread and water every day.

As The Feast of Trumpets approaches, remember to take time to sit and feast on God’s word. Let it sink into your innermost being as soul food, because that’s what it is! Then, find someone else to encourage with a good word. Amazing things can come from something as simple as a word!

“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart” Jeremiah 15:16