“My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” – Philippians 3:10

I had a revelation when I read this Bible verse during a recent morning devotion. The Holy Spirit was speaking in “the fellowship of His sufferings.” I had my usual gut reaction: Do I really want to suffer? NO! I try to avoid suffering! Then it hit me. We all suffer. “The rain falls on the just and unjust alike” (Matthew 5:45). But will I choose to fellowship with Christ in my suffering? Will I look for what He is trying to teach me? Will I praise God from this rocky, rainy place?

Rebekah, Elektra and me (very glad to be done) with the 2013 Run for Triumph.

For me, this has been a season of trials. My daughters have had various painful struggles, some of them typical teen and young adult challenges and a few more onerous obstacles. I experienced a month of health problems and uncertainty that made me weak and unable to do a lot. Not running made me grumpy, but I was exhausted from taking the trash out. Not knowing also made me grumpy.  Where would this suffering lead?

As I look in the rear-view mirror at more than 30 years of following Christ, I can see that God uses suffering in my life to get me less self-reliant and more God-reliant. I want to “consider it joy” when I suffer because I know God will use it. I’m not saying that I like it or look forward to it, or anything crazy like that. But I can trust Him to use it.

This morning I got a devotion via email (TGIF: Prime Time with God) that talked about Joseph and how he named his son Ephraim “because God has made me fruitful in my land of suffering.” – Genesis 41:52. Writer Os Hillman writes, “Samson had great anointing but lacked character. We see many today who have great anointing yet lack character. But God is raising up Josephs who not only have great anointing for these days but also great character. Suffering produces character.”

I am reminded of the Bible passage: “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance,  character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us.” – Romans 5:3-5

Where will your suffering lead? Physical training (like running) is often difficult and sometimes painful (especially as I get older), but it usually produces desirable results. Likewise, will my suffering be wasted or will I go to God in my distress so I become more like Christ?

Rachel Scott (rachelschallenge.org)

As a writer, I often think about the power of words.

My day job is to cover news and events in the Keller school district for the Keller Citizen and the Star-Telegram. On Friday, I went to Timberview Middle School in Fort Worth for “Rachel’s Challenge” a global anti-bullying campaign started by the family of Rachel Scott, the first person killed in the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School.

Like “The Diary of Anne Frank,” the words Rachel wrote in her journals, and in a school essay, are reaching millions of people. Her plea to “start a chain reaction of kindness” lives on. Judging by the tears and compassion I saw from young teens on Friday as they hugged each other and passed out Kleenex, Rachel’s message made a difference.

One of the key parts of Rachel’s Challenge to teens is to “speak with kindness.” As the presenter talked about the power of words, how a criticism can crush and a compliment can uplift, I thought of the phrase “speak life.”

Snippets of the song “Speak Life” started to go through my head, and when I tweeted about Rachel’s Challenge, I typed #speaklife. I wasn’t super familiar with the song but had heard it a number of times on the radio.

The following morning as I went over my notes and finished writing my story on Rachel’s Challenge, I read “words can hurt or heal.” Again, “Speak life” was running through my brain. You know, like when you can’t get a song out of your head and it starts to get a bit annoying?

I finished my story and put on my running clothes. I didn’t want to run far, and since I needed the extra motivation of a scenic route, I decided to hop in the car with my ever-eager running buddy, Elektra, and take a five-minute drive to a nearby park with awesome trails. What came on the radio as I pulled out of my neighborhood? You guessed it, Tobymac’s “Speak Life.” I didn’t even know it was a Tobymac song until I got home and looked it up on YouTube.

“Speak Life” by Tobymac

You are so funny, God! Just in case I wanted to ignore it, He wanted to make sure I got the message. Speak Life. As I began to run with my crazy canine companion, I thought about God’s call to Speak Life is also a call on my life to Write Life.

God wants us to Speak Life because He has given us “the message of reconciliation:”

¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

– 1 Corinthinas 5:18-20

The Bible is chock full of commands, warnings, and promises surrounding the words we speak. I Googled “Bible verses on the power of words” and was rewarded/humbled with a “Top 100” list.

First, Proverbs 18:21  reminded me “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Second was “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”- Eph. 4:29.

Words matter. How can you Speak Life to someone who needs to hear it today?