Friday, March 7, 2025

New Testament Reading Plan: 2 Peter 3

Is there a relationship in your life that has been strained because you both used your words as weapons?

If so, you’ve probably been storing anger, insecurities, fear, and other toxic memories from these battlefields.

The remains of these hurtful and harmful conversations can leave a lasting weight on our hearts. And if we’re not careful, the stored words can build barriers in our relationships.

When we are on an adventure with Jesus, we don’t need to be discouraged. (Deuteronomy 31:8).

We can prepare our hearts differently by practicing humility. Humility disarms our weaponized words. It helps us show up differently, acknowledging when we’ve been wrong. Without bringing hurt from past conversations, we can begin by storing helpful and loving words.

Begin storing words filled with grace, like the ones we receive from our heavenly father.

God’s love for us and the beauty his grace offers is immeasurably more than we can imagine (Ephesians 3:20). It is in that grace, you can find healing and strengthening of your heart to reconstruct the weaponized words you’ve been holding on to.

Hebrews 4:16
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Not because we’ve done anything to earn it, but because it’s his grace that saves us (Ephesians 2:8).

Let’s go boldly and humbly into this day, knowing that with a checked heart, you can build bridges, not barriers, in connection with others.

Questions:
What is it that God is saying to you about the stored-up items in your heart? Are they helpful and full of grace? Or are they hurtful and full of harm to yourself or others?

What step is God inviting you to take to find freedom and live in a posture of humility?

Next Steps:
Perform a heart check to honor the way God wired you by learning more about your temperament.

Drop the barriers! Continue learning about the unhealthful ways our temperament shows up, and be quick to apologize if some weaponized words are said.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I come to you humbly to confess that my words have been used as weapons more times than I can even count. Thank you for loving me and giving me the chance to grow, learn, and transform from the life I knew before our journey began. I pray that my heart will be filled with healthful words so they can overflow and reflect your immense love for anyone I meet. I love you, I trust you, and I worship you. Amen.

Series Theme Verse:

Ephesians 4:29
Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

This post was written by Lori Tuckerman, Director of Content for the LivingItOut Devotional.