THE UPPER ROOM DAILY DEVOTIONAL 7 AUGUST 2024, WEDNESDAY MESSAGE
TOPIC: A Change of Heart
Today’s Reading
Matthew 12:33-37
The mouth speaks what the heart is full of. – Matthew 12:34 (NIV)
TODAY’S MESSAGE
One Saturday, I invited some friends over for breakfast. The smell of coffee and bacon filled the air as we gathered together.
The conversation eventually turned to our jobs. As I shared my frustrations about the setbacks I had experienced over the past year, I startled myself with the vitriol in my words. But I quickly reassured myself, I’m just having a bad day.
Later, as I began gathering the dishes from the table, words from Matthew came to mind: “The mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
Maybe my angry words were more of a reflection of the current condition of my heart than I wanted to admit. I began to see how the frustrations and setbacks at work had led to unchecked anger and hard-heartedness. My spiteful words revealed not just a bad day but a heart that needed the attention and redemption of Christ.
It’s easy to pass off careless words as a “bad day.” But if we carefully examine our words to see what they reveal about our hearts, we can then humbly ask Jesus for truth, healing, and transformation in our areas of weakness.
Today may we invite the Savior into those places of our hearts that need his truth, then allow him to soften and redeem both our words and our hearts.
Today’s Prayer
Dear Lord, fill our hearts with your love and truth so that all the words we say will bear good fruit and bring glory to your name. Amen.
Thought for the Day
Jesus can soften my words and my heart.
Prayer Focus
Those unhappy with their work
The Upper Room Daily Devotional 7 August 2024 Message. The Upper Room is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. The meditations are stories of real people working to live faithfully with the Bible as their touchstone. Every day, readers of The Upper Room around the world read the same story in many different languages and pray the same prayer together. Read More