7 Days Of Hope, Part 2Sample

Sticks and Stones

Words sting. After I started blogging, I was exposed to the best and the worst social media have to offer. I met people online who encouraged me and became true friends, people whose love and kindness were a lifeline during our early years with Christian. But the Internet also exposed us to the darkness in people’s hearts.

People will say things on social media that they would never say to your face. Along with name-calling and negativity, Chris and I were even accused of Photoshop-editing Christian’s face to get sympathy and using his disability to selfishly raise money for ourselves.

Too often criticism and condemnation from heartless strangers can make us pause for just a second too long, wondering if there is any validity to the person’s claim.

Yet even when the worst things in the world are spoken, God calls us to love. We must remember that the words of cruel strangers do not, in any way, define us. We are who God says we are: Loved. Righteous. His.

Words hurt, but God is the healer of broken hearts.

It is truth that empowers, truth that heals, truth that sets free. And if God calls you to confront the haters, speak the truth, but do it in love.

How do your words compare with who God says you are?