Bring Me The Harpist

 

Words.
There’s a lot of them these days.
Many harsh.
Some destructive.
And mostly rooted in deep pain.

Words matter.

The greats in scripture understood this well.
David knew it.
Job learned it.
Peter experienced it.

And the prophet Elisha left us an indelible example of it.

Words matter.

The ungodly King of Israel, on the advice of a better man than he, and as almost a last-ditch-effort, comes to the prophet for supernatural help in a time of great need and desperation.  

Elisha chooses sharp words to assert his displeasure, “I wouldn’t even bother with you, except for my respect for Jehosophat of Judah.”  (2 Kings 3:14)

Words matter.

And you can almost hear a sigh when you read the next words spoken.  “Now bring me someone who can play the harp.”  (verse 15)

At first glance we may be tempted to believe he simply enjoyed a musical performance.
But it just might be so much more than that.

Having told the King what he thought, he may have suddenly felt the twinge of agitation and distress.  And having been one who walked with the Lord, he would’ve understood that in that particular state, the Spirit could find no place to rest.  In that condition of irritation and disappointment, the Spirit could not make His home within the prophet.

Words matter.

So in wisdom, Elisha asks for a harpist to minister by way of music.
To calm his soul.
To set his heart right.
To properly condition the atmosphere.

Because there are times when words spoken out of season serve only as deadly poison.

The word “season” means = “fit for a suitable time, an expression of maturity and preparation."

And words out of season… those spoken when the heart is in unrest… when the fire is still burning in the soul… contribute more to the dissension, and less to the peace they’re hoping to achieve.


Words matter.

James reminds us too.  That, “among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire.  It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body.  You can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.”  (James 1:6, NLT)

Words matter.

When they see me, do they see Jesus?
When they hear me, do they hear Jesus?

It’s a heart issue.
A soul issue.


Words matter.

So in my confusion and in my despair and in my deep anguish over things that seek to cripple my usefulness and damage my witness for Jesus, I will ask for the Harpist to play so that my soul can be refreshed, and so that my words… that matter… can make a difference for eternity.