Come Up Here And See

Has anyone ever regretted pressing the “Send” button? A better question might be, “Who hasn’t regretted it?” Too often, while emailing—or even at the start of composing a message—I accidentally hit the send button when I only intended to continue my thoughts. It’s amusing how this frequently happens with the same people in my ladies’ connect group.

In today’s fast-paced world of typing, texting, and emailing, we often send messages before fully considering the consequences, only to be met with regret afterward.

This is why we are frequently advised to read our messages multiple times and even aloud before sending them. 

This situation reminds me of how, as a young adult or a rebellious teenager, often my mother warned me, “I wouldn’t say that if I were you.” Lisa, you do not want to have regrets.

God reminds us to be cautious with our words, as once they are spoken, they can’t be taken back, and we must face the fallout. It’s tempting to hide away or escape from these situations, but that rarely works and we can never hide from God. 

We have a friend who speaks very slowly and softly, and I often wish I could emulate that approach. 

The Bible teaches us that life and death are in the power of the tongue. It also instructs us to guard our speech and control our words. Some versions of these teachings convey this more effectively than others.

I remember hearing a testimony from a teacher who felt compelled to read the book of Revelation. Initially, he was reluctant but chose to obey the prompting. He began reading at his usual pace, but the Holy Spirit urged him to slow down. Although he thought he was reading slowly enough, he was prompted to pause even more. To his surprise, he was instructed to start over several times, eventually reading just one word at a time until he knew the Holy Spirit said to move on.

As he read the first five words of the Book of Revelation, he was astonished to realize that this book is about “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”. This truth was unnoticeable until he slowed down. 

God tells me to slow down, think about it first, ponder and listen. These few instructions from the Lord would save me from embarrassment resulting from my actions.  

• Proverbs 21:29 CEV Wicked people bluff their way, but God’s people think before they act 
• Proverbs 21:29 ICB A wicked person is stubborn. But an honest person thinks carefully about what he does.
• Proverbs 4:26 ESV Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure
• James 1:19 NASB You know this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger

If we were to apply these few scriptures to our lives, imagine how much more peaceful our existence could be. We would spend less time correcting mistakes and more time pursuing our goals and visions. The heartache and pain from significant errors, known to many, as the inner turmoil that only we recognize, could be significantly reduced.

The speed at which we live, speak, making mistakes can often be compared to “the shot heard around the world”. This phrase refers to the opening battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775 that began the American Revolutionary War. Neither side had the orders to shoot but once the shot was fired there was no going back.  Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Concord Hymn 1837

My grandmother was slow to speak, never judged, calm and did not gossip. Compared to the rest of the family she was a saint. My grandfather had a quick temper he would start ranting and with tranquility, Grandma would say to Papa, “Now Ray”. I heard her say that multiple times so I can’t imagine how many times she said that in their marital life span. I loved my grandma and wanted to be peaceful like her. On a funny note, my husband is a mimic and can impersonate Grandma’s voice and several times we would say to one another “Now Ray” and laugh and remember how precious Grandma was. I need to tell myself often “Now Lisa don’t say that, turn away”. 

In the workplace, as you ascend to higher positions of authority, the need to speak slowly and thoughtfully increases significantly. Regardless of how much your subordinates may chatter or express themselves, you must maintain a composed demeanour. Retaliation is not permitted; instead, it is essential to document every interaction carefully.

If we take the time to think about how God created the world in six days, each day beginning with “Then God said”. He created the sun, moon, stars, day, night, heavens, seas, vegetation, sea and land creatures in the first five days. On the sixth day, He said “Let Us make man in Our image” and He made man and woman. God spoke carefully about creation. Genesis 1

The comparison between creation and the words of Lucifer, which led to destruction, is significant. Lucifer made five “I will” statements, ultimately declaring, “I will make myself like the Most High.” This act of pride was the first sin, which resulted in his downfall and transformation into the adversary and opposer of God Almighty, as described in Isaiah 14:13-14.

When I take the time to ask myself if my speech is coming from a point of “I will” then I need to be aware that this could be a dangerous ground to be speaking from and I might be starting a war that I do not want. 

In the world, we live in today with missiles ready to aim, fire and shoot either in military zones or on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, we need to pause and reflect before pressing the send button on the computer or our lips. 

So the next time when you are frustrated and want to send a letter of complaint, take a deep breath and wait. Or how about when you are overwhelmed at work and want to quit because the procedures are not following suit, turn your cheek, keep your head down, smile and do your job. Or how about a spouse, child or family member, I am speaking to myself, is getting on your last nerve and you want to scream, just say Honey I love you and appreciate all you do and breathe and move on. 

Be encouraged, we have the best cheerleader, the Holy Spirit. He wants to rest and remain in you. He will guide, protect and exhort you every day. As a Christ follower, you belong to Him and He will fight for you. 

Holy Spirit, we thank You for Your loving kindness. Help us to remember when Jesus said that if we abide in Him, He wants to rest and remain in us. I pray our steps, thoughts, and actions will always reflect our desire to have You with us, in Jesus’ name, amen. 

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Check out my YouTube site at “comeuphereandsee.ca”

Photo credit to Markus Spiske