Last Friday night at HomeWord, we continued looking at communication. One thing that emerged was the high and incredible challenge we have as new creations in Christ to speak in a way that distinctly glorifies Him. Paul David Tripp calls this a destination. In chapter 8 of his book War of Words, Tripp gives these steps to get to the destination of good communication…
1) Don’t give in to regret. – It is easy to be paralyzed by “if onlys”. We need to rest in sovereign wisdom and remember that God restores.
2) Embrace gospel hope. Grace superabounds where sin abounds. God hasn’t forsaken you and He’s working within us for His glory.
3) Examine your fruit. Humbly examine the harvest of words that pour out of your mouth.
4) Uncover your roots. It is out of the overflow of heart that the mouth speaks. It is not just circumstances but our hearts that control our words.
5) Seek forgiveness. We have 2 options. We can 1) confess our sins seeking forgiveness or we can get into 2) self-justification.
6) Freely grant forgiveness. There is a distinction between vertical, judicial forgiveness (handing it over to God) and horizontal, relational forgiveness (willing to forgive anyone coming seeking it). Both are needed in the restoration process.
7) Change the rules. Learn to cry “foul” when what needs to change that’s been forgiven reoccurs.
8) Look for opportunities. We need a solid change in perspective to live boldly.
9) Choose your words. Prov. 15:28 encourages us to be careful in the words we use. Our communcation, according to Tripp, should flow on 2 tracks 1) God’s glory, 2) neighbor’s good.
10) Confess your weakness. God came because we were weak. Humbly allow God’s power to be seen in your weakness.
11) Don’t give the Devil an opportunity. Tripp encourages 2 things to keep the devil immobilized… 1) courage of honesty, 2) humility of approachability. Tripp says this will render Satan useless in his tracks.
Embrace these tips as ways to have effective communication in your life.