An amazing promise is tucked away in Isaiah 57:18-19. The entire chapter describes God’s heart for people who have rejected Him, rebelled against Him, went their own way and did their own thing, but God promises to bring them back from exile and to restore to them the inheritance they forfeited through their willful disobedience.
It’s in the context of this incredible promise that God makes a mind-blowing, life-changing statement. God says,
“‘I have seen his ways, but I will HEAL him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, 19 CREATING THE FRUIT of the LIPS. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,’ says the Lord, “and I will HEAL him.’” —Isaiah 57:18-19 ESV
Don’t miss that! God basically says, “I’m going to heal you. I’m going to restore you. I’m going to bring you comfort and peace. But part of that process will be that I will ‘CREATE the FRUIT of [YOUR] LIPS…’”
In other words, “As you begin to DECLARE MY WORD over the situation you find yourself in — the situation that your very attitudes and actions may have actually created and caused, MY WORD will be the catalyst for Your healing and breakthrough!”
Think about the implications of this… If the WORDS we’ve been speaking over our lives, workplace, relationships, marriage and family have created a living HELL, then, maybe the WORDS we speak over our lives, workplace, relationships, marriage and family could transform them into a bit of HEAVEN?
In Isaiah 57:19, God said, “I will create the fruit of the lips…” The Message translates that phrase like this, “[I will] create a NEW LANGUAGE of PRAISE…”
Wow! Part of God’s heart for us is that our entire vocabulary would be radically transformed! Instead of speaking negativity, criticism, harshness and uttering complaints on a daily basis, God’s heart is for us to fill the atmosphere and our environments with gratitude, praise, worship and the declaration of His promises and Word! When we do, He promises to go into action!
Twice in the context of two verses God promises, “I will HEAL him… I will HEAL him…” Those two statements bracket the fact that God says, “I will CREATE the FRUIT of the LIPS…”
GET THIS: declaring God’s Word over our lives, relationships, marriage, family, job, careers and health isn’t something we should do occasionally when a crisis hits! It’s not just a reaction to current challenges or a last resort to mounting problems, it is the CONTINUAL RESPONSE of believers who believe that God will do all that He has promised to do. He will “…CREATE the FRUIT of the LIPS.”
Here’s a question: What kind of FRUIT are you creating? In your life? Marriage? Home? Relationships? Workplace? Physical health?
If your WORDS have got or kept you STUCK, your words — “the fruit of the lips” — can get you UNSTUCK! If what you’ve been speaking has created a living hell, perhaps what you begin speaking today can create a bit of HEAVEN!