ALL YOU NEED IS A GOOD WORD

ALL YOU NEED IS A GOOD WORD

Scripture: Proverbs 12:25 (NKJV)

“Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.”

INTRODUCTION: My Saint Thomas Baptist family and friends; There are some things in life that do not require a whole lot to make a difference. Sometimes you don’t need a whole sermon. Sometimes you don’t need a long conversation. Sometimes you don’t need somebody to explain everything that has gone wrong. Sometimes you don’t even need somebody to fix the situation. Sometimes… All you need is a good word.

You ever had one of those days when you were already carrying enough? You woke up with something on your mind. You went through the day trying to hold yourself together. You smiled because you didn’t want anybody asking questions. You kept moving because responsibilities did not stop just because your heart was heavy. And then somebody came along and said just the right thing. “I’m praying for you.” “Keep going.” “God has not forgotten you.” “You’re going to make it.” “I’m proud of you.” “God is still with you.” And although nothing around you had changed yet, something inside of you changed. The problem was still there. The bill was still due. The doctor’s report had not changed. The family situation had not changed. The pressure had not disappeared.

But somehow that good word gave you enough strength to keep going. Because words have power. Words can wound, but words can also heal. Words can discourage, but words can also strengthen. Words can tear somebody down, but words can also lift somebody back up. (Proverbs 18:21) says: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” That means what comes out of our mouths carries more weight than we sometimes realize. Somebody sitting near you may be one encouraging word away from not giving up. Somebody in your family may be one good word away from getting their strength back. Somebody at work may be smiling on the outside while struggling on the inside, and God may use your mouth to remind them that life is still worth living.

Our text says: “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.” Solomon understands something about the human condition. He understands that there are moments when the heart becomes heavy. There are times when worry moves into our minds. There are seasons when burdens begin weighing us down. There are days when we are physically present but emotionally exhausted. And Solomon says there is something powerful that can enter into that heaviness: A good word. Not necessarily a perfect circumstance. Not necessarily an immediate miracle. Not necessarily everything changing overnight. But sometimes God will send you a word strong enough to carry you until your circumstances catch up with what God has promised.

And I came to preach to somebody today who has been carrying something heavy: All you need is a good word. You don’t need everybody to understand. You don’t need everybody to agree. You don’t need everybody to approve. You just need God to send one word into your situation. Because one word from God can change the atmosphere of your entire life.

BIG IDEA: Here is what I want us to understand today: When the weight of life makes your heart heavy, God knows how to send a word that strengthens your spirit, changes your perspective, and gives you enough hope to keep moving forward. A good word may not immediately change what is happening around you, but it can change what is happening within you. And sometimes before God changes the situation, He changes your ability to stand in the situation. Sometimes before He removes the storm, He gives you peace in the storm. Sometimes before He defeats your enemy, He reminds you: “No weapon formed against you shall prosper.” Sometimes before the door opens, He tells you: “Behold, I have set before you an open door.” Sometimes before the provision arrives, He reminds you: “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Sometimes before you see your way out, God sends a word that says: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” And that word becomes enough to help you make it through another day.

So, with the help of the Holy Spirit and the real Preacher, Jesus Christ, I want to submit three things about the power of a good word.

A GOOD WORD CAN LIFT A HEAVY HEART

The first part of Proverbs 12:25 says: “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression…” The King James Version says: “Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop.” I like that picture. It says heaviness can make the heart stoop. In other words, life can put so much weight on you that you start bending beneath it. There are burdens that nobody can see. You can walk upright physically while your heart is bent over emotionally. You can look dressed up on Sunday morning while carrying something that almost broke you Saturday night. You can sing in the choir with a heavy heart. You can usher with a heavy heart. You can preach with a heavy heart. You can serve everybody else while your own heart feels like it is about to collapse. Because everybody carrying something heavy does not look heavy.

Some people have become experts at functioning while hurting. They know how to smile. They know how to say, “I’m doing fine.” They know how to show up. They know how to keep working. But underneath all of that is a heart saying: “I’m tired.” Anxiety has a way of making tomorrow’s problems feel like today’s emergency. It makes you worry about situations that have not even happened. “What if this goes wrong?” “What if they leave?” “What if I don’t have enough?” “What if the report comes back bad?” “What if things never get better?” And before long, what started in the mind becomes heaviness in the heart. But Solomon says: “A good word makes it glad.” That means words have the ability to help lift what life has pushed down.

(Isaiah 50:4) says: “[The Servant of God says] The Lord God has given Me the tongue of a disciple and of one who is taught, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary.” Did you catch that? A word in season to somebody who is weary. God knows when you are tired. God knows when you are discouraged. God knows when you are holding on by what feels like a thread. And God knows how to send somebody with exactly what you need to hear. Have you ever had somebody call you at just the right time? They didn’t know what you were dealing with. They didn’t know what you had been praying about. They didn’t know the conversation you had the night before. But somehow, they called and said: “You were on my mind.”

And the moment they started talking, you knew God had sent them. That’s because God can put your name on somebody else’s heart. God can put your situation in somebody else’s spirit. God can send somebody with a word that confirms: “I have not forgotten you.” I wish somebody would hear this: Your heart may be heavy today, but it does not have to stay heavy. God knows how to lift you. (Psalm 55:22) says: “Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain and uphold you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken (slip, fall, fail).”

You may have walked in carrying it. But you don’t have to leave carrying it the same way. Because sometimes all you need is a good word. And here is a good word: God is still with you. Here is another good word: This season will not last forever. Here is another one: What God started in your life; He is able to finish. Here is another one: You have survived every bad day you have had so far. And if God brought you through yesterday, you ought to believe He can carry you through today.

TRANSITION: But a good word does more than lift a heavy heart. Secondly…

A GOOD WORD CAN CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE

Sometimes the problem is not merely what we are facing. Sometimes the problem is how we are seeing what we are facing. Anxiety has a way of magnifying the problem and minimizing God. It makes the mountain look bigger than the One who made the mountain. It makes the storm look bigger than the One who controls the wind. It makes the enemy look stronger than the God who has already promised victory. This is why you have to be careful what voices you allow into your spirit. Everybody does not deserve access to your ears. Because when you are already discouraged, the wrong voice can make your discouragement worse. You don’t need somebody constantly reminding you of what might go wrong. You don’t need somebody pouring fear into a heart already wrestling with anxiety.You don’t need people around you who only know how to point out problems.

Sometimes you need somebody who can look at the same situation and say: “But God…” The doctors said one thing…But God. The bank account says one thing…But God. Your circumstances say one thing…But God. Your past says you should never recover…But God.

I love the story of David and Goliath because everybody saw the same giant, but everybody did not see him the same way. Israel looked at Goliath and said: “He’s too big to fight.” David looked at Goliath and essentially said: “He’s too big to miss.” Same giant. Different perspective. What made the difference? David had a word from God living in his heart. He remembered what God had already done. He remembered the lion. He remembered the bear. And David said in (1 Samuel 17:37) “The Lord, who rescued me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

That’s what a good word will do. It will remind you that the thing in front of you is not greater than the God behind you. It will remind you that you have history with God. You’ve seen Him make a way before. You’ve seen Him heal before. You’ve seen Him provide before. You’ve seen Him open doors before. You’ve seen Him carry you through grief before. You’ve seen Him give you strength you did not know you had. And whenever you start getting nervous about your future, you ought to look back over your history and say: “If He did it before, He can do it again.”

Somebody needs to change the way you have been talking about your situation. Stop saying: “I don’t know what I’m going to do.” Start saying: “I don’t know how, but I know Who.” Stop saying: “I’ll never recover from this.” Start saying: “God restores my soul.” Stop saying: “Everything is falling apart.” Start saying: “All things work together for good to those who love God.” Stop saying: “Nobody is with me.” Start saying: “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Your words will not magically erase every difficulty. But biblical words will align your perspective with God’s truth. Because faith does not deny reality. Faith simply refuses to believe that reality has the final word. The diagnosis may be real. But God has the final word. The disappointment may be real. But God has the final word. The pain may be real. But God has the final word. The struggle may be real. But God has the final word. And if God has the final word, then I refuse to let my current chapter convince me that my story is over.

TRANSITION: A good word can lift a heavy heart. A good word can change your perspective. But there is one more thing.

A GOOD WORD CAN GIVE YOU STRENGTH TO KEEP GOING

Sometimes you don’t need enough strength for next year. You just need enough strength for today. Sometimes you don’t need God to show you the entire plan. You just need enough light for your next step. (Psalm 119:105) says: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” A lamp does not always illuminate ten miles down the road. Sometimes it gives you enough light for the next few steps. And that’s how God works. We want the whole blueprint. God gives us the next word. We want to know how everything will turn out. God says: “Trust Me.” We want to know when the trouble will end. God says: “My grace is sufficient for you.” We want to know how we are going to make it. God says: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” We want a detailed explanation. Sometimes God gives us a simple word: “Keep going.”

That may be somebody’s word today. Keep going. You’ve come too far to quit now. You’ve survived too much to stop now. God has been too faithful for you to give up now. The enemy would love for you to interpret a difficult season as the end of your story. But what if it isn’t the end? What if this is only a chapter? What if this pain is producing something? What if this delay is developing you? What if God is using this season to prepare you for something you are not ready to see yet? (Galatians 6:9) says: “And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.”

I love those words: “Due season.” That means your season is coming. It may not be here yet. But it’s coming. You may be sowing in tears right now. But your harvest is coming. You may be praying without seeing results right now. But your due season is coming. You may be serving without recognition. But your due season is coming. You may be fighting battles nobody understands. But your due season is coming. The Word says: “We shall reap if we do not lose heart.” That means give in, give up throw in the towel. So, keep going. Keep praying. Keep trusting. Keep serving. Keep worshiping. Keep showing up. Keep believing. Keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Because sometimes the breakthrough is not that God removes the burden immediately. Sometimes the breakthrough is that God gives you enough strength to carry it until He changes it. And somebody ought to be able to testify: “I didn’t think I would make it this far, but God kept me.” I cried, but He kept me. I got discouraged, but He kept me. I had questions, but He kept me. I had nights when I did not know how morning would come, but He kept me. And if you are still here…If you still have breath…If you still have faith…If you still have a praise…Then that’s proof that God is not finished with you yet.

THE POWER OF GOD’S WORD: And before I close, I need to tell you what makes a good word truly good. It is not merely positive thinking. It is not just motivational speech. It is not pretending that trouble does not exist. The greatest good word you can receive is a Word from God. Because God’s Word is different from everybody else’s word. People can make promises they cannot keep. But Numbers 23:19 says: “God is not a man, that He should lie.” People can change their minds. But God’s Word stands forever. (Isaiah 40:8) says: “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” People can tell you what they think. But God’s Word tells you what He knows. And when God speaks, His Word carries power. In Genesis, God said: “Let there be light.” And light showed up. God didn’t have to manufacture it. He just spoke it. In Ezekiel 37, God told Ezekiel to speak to dry bones. And when the Word went forth, bones started coming together. In Mark 4, Jesus looked at a storm and said: “Peace, be still!” And the wind stopped blowing. In John 11, Jesus stood outside a tomb and said: “Lazarus, come forth!” And a dead man started walking.

So, if God’s Word can bring light out of darkness…If God’s Word can reconnect dry bones…If God’s Word can calm storms…If God’s Word can raise dead men…Surely God’s Word can handle whatever you walked into church carrying today.

CELEBRATORY CLOSE: And so, Saint Thomas, I came with one assignment this morning:

I came to give somebody…A good word.

If you’re worried about tomorrow…Here’s a good word: “Take no thought for tomorrow.”

If you feel alone…Here’s a good word: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

If you’re tired…Here’s a good word: “Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

If you’re confused…Here’s a good word: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding.”

If you’re afraid…Here’s a good word: “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

If you’re weak…Here’s a good word: “My grace is sufficient for you.”

If you’re in trouble…Here’s a good word: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

If your enemies are coming against you…Here’s a good word: “No weapon formed against you shall prosper.”

If you don’t know how the story is going to end…Here’s a good word: “All things work together for good to those who love God.”

If you are wondering whether God is still working…Here’s a good word: “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it.”

Is there anybody here who knows…One word from God can turn your whole day around!

One word can lift your head. One word can dry your tears.

One word can strengthen your knees. One word can restore your joy.

One word can give you peace. One word can help you hold on another day.

And I don’t know what word you need this morning…But I know where you can find it. It’s in the Word!

When you’re lonely…Read the Word!

When you’re discouraged…Read the Word!

When you’re confused…Read the Word!

When your heart is heavy…Read the Word!

Because David said: “Thy word have I hidden in my heart.”

You better put some Word down in you before trouble shows up.

Put some Word in your heart before the doctor’s appointment.

Put some Word in your heart before the difficult conversation.

Put some Word in your heart before the storm comes.

Because when life starts talking…You’ve got to have enough Word in you to talk back!

When fear says: “You’re not going to make it…” Tell fear: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”

When anxiety says: “Everything is falling apart…” Tell anxiety: “My God shall supply all my need!”

When the enemy says: “You’re finished…” Tell the devil: “Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world!”

When trouble says: “I’m going to destroy you…” Tell trouble: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all!”

And when death says: “I’ve got the final word…” Tell death: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”

Because early…Early…EARLY Sunday morning…Jesus got up from the grave!

And when He got up, He gave us the best word anybody could ever receive: Victory!

Victory over sin! Victory over death! Victory over the grave! Victory over fear! Victory over the enemy!

And because He lives…I can face tomorrow! Because He lives…My fear is gone! Because He lives…I know who holds my future!

So, lift up your head! Square your shoulders! Dry your tears! And tell yourself: “I’m going to make it!”

Not because life is easy. Not because I have everything figured out. Not because I don’t have any problems.

But because…GOD GAVE ME A WORD!

And His Word says: I’m more than a conqueror!

His Word says: I’m the head and not the tail!

His Word says: I’m above and not beneath!

His Word says: No weapon formed against me shall prosper!

His Word says: He’ll never leave me!

His Word says: He’ll never forsake me!

His Word says: He’ll supply every need!

His Word says: He’ll make a way!

And His Word says: WEAPING MAY ENDURE FOR A NIGHT…

But I feel like preaching now…JOY…JOY…JOY COMES IN THE MORNING!

Somebody shout: “I GOT A WORD!”

I got a word for my family! I got a word for my finances!

I got a word for my future! I got a word for my trouble!

I got a word for my tears! I got a word for my storm!

And as long as I’ve got God’s Word…I’ve got enough!

Because when your heart is heavy…

When your mind is troubled…

When the road gets rough…

When the going gets tough…

When friends walk away…

When trouble comes…

When you don’t know what else to do…

Sometimes…ALL YOU NEED…IS A GOOD WORD!

And if God’s been good to you…

If His Word has ever kept you…

If His Word has ever encouraged you…

If His Word has ever picked you up…

Open your mouth…And give God…A GOOD PRAISE!

Amen.