Psalm 91:2 in the NLT says this, “This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him.”
And the word I was struck with when I first read that passage is “declare.”
Notice, here, that David is doing more than personalizing it here… He’s using verbiage that expresses his action of “declaring” it out loud.
It’s as if He is communicating to us… his readers… the importance of declaration. Our declaration of His goodness to the world around us.
I have said it for years and with greater intensity over the course of these last few months… what we say…. the words we speak… have greater impact over our realities than we realize.
Our words are powerful.
Scripture tells us:
- that they, themselves, release life or death. (Prov 18:21)
- that they hold within them the power to destroy or rescue. (Prov 11:9)
- that they have the ability to nourish our souls. (Prov 11:17)
- that they bring us into good health. (Prov 15:4, 16:24)
- that our speech is more valuable than gold and rubies. (Prov 20:15)
David says, “This I DECLARE about the Lord…”
David is choosing to be hope centered in a maddening world.
Despite his pain, despite his circumstance, David was making a formal decree with his mouth that shifted his reality.
The word “reality” means this = “resemblance to what is real.”
And while pain and suffering are real - God is “more real.”
His power and His goodness supersede ANYTHING that is happening in our nation.
His faithfulness endures forever and ever, and yet as Christians, often times we live opposite to that truth as we lose sight of biblical promises.
What are we saying TO one another about Jesus?
It’s so important that we make a decision daily to DECLARE what we know to be true about His nature and character.
I heard a pastor say recently, “Both hope and hopelessness are contagious. Choose how infectious you want to be!”
We’ve gotta DECLARE what we know to be true of Him… to DECLARE what He is saying and what He has said.
We’ve gotta choose to Remember, Recall, and Repeat.
Remember all He has done.
Recall it to our memory often.
Repeat it for all to hear.
What we say with our mouths has the ability to change the conditions of our circumstances.
When we choose negative words…we live in a negative climate.
We must be intentional in our decrees to one another.
Col 3:16 says this, “Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.”
Isaiah 35:3 says, “With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees.”
There must be power in our voice because Paul even tells us in Eph 5:12, that, “It’s shameful to even TALK ABOUT the things ungodly people do in secret.”
And so we must decide what kind of speech we’re going to have.
We’ve got to guard the words that we choose to let escape from our mouths.
“I will SAY of the Lord” (KJV)… He is good. He is faithful. He is powerful. He is a refuge.
“I will proclaim Your name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise You among Your assembled people.” Psalm 22:22
Kingdom realities are released through declaration!
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