Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits...who fills my mouth with good things so that my youth is restored like the eagles.
Psalm 103:1-5 God also declares He has forgiven all our iniquities, healed all our diseases, redeemed our lives from hell, and crowned us with His steadfast love and mercy. However, the next "benefit" is different in that it requires our participation. He may "fill our mouths" but it is up to us to speak these good things. This is much like the expression, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.
2 Corinthians 4:13 states that since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke" we also believe and therefore speak. We believe Jesus has overcome sin, sickness, the devil, and death. Then we bring this overcoming power into our lives by saying it with our mouths. It is one thing to hear the Word of God, but another to make it ours by declaring this truth
Consider what words you usually declare. If there was a recording of all your words from the past 24 hours, would it sound positive like hope and joy or would it be doubt and fear and defeat? Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, according to Jesus in Luke 6:45, so our words reveal what is in our hearts. Have you ever noticed what comes out of your mouth in emergency situations? It is often something we didn’t even realize was in our heart. Yet God has given us a new heart and now renews our mind with His truth and ways so we can become His mouthpiece on the earth.
As we declare His truth, we allow the Holy Spirit to confirm our words with His power. Our youth or life is renewed like the eagles. Just as an eagle soars and is lifted up effortlessly by the wind, so our bodies are renewed by the breath of God.
Beyond our personal benefit, God's plan is also for "His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven," which is how Jesus told us to pray. Peter goes so far (1 Peter 4:11) as to say that we who speak are the oracle or mouthpiece of God. Just as God spoke creation into existence with words, "Let there be light" and so forth, this same principle of power is declared in our spoken words, according to Proverbs 18:21, "Life and death are in the power of the tongue." Amos 3:8 exhorts all those who hear God to speak what we hear, "The Lord has spoken, who can but prophesy?" Prophecy is hearing from God and then speaking the message our loud to establish it on the earth.
The bottom line is "It is finished." Jesus, through His death and resurrection, has finished or completed the work of restoring all that mankind has lost through sin and now reigns as King. We agree with God's Word and use His kingly authority to overcome anything and everything that does not submit to His rule. Therefore, Romans 5:17 can boldly say "all those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ."
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and speak the good things from God's Word to renew your youth like the eagles!
