I ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant and two of the managers were standing near my table in a discussion. I couldn’t help but overhear as they discussed some kind of repair work that needed to be done. At first, the conversation was completely in Spanish, but then I heard them interject English, then Spanish, then English again. I was amused by how quickly and fluently they switched from Spanish to English. Since I know the two guys pretty well, I said to them, “Pardon me for eaves-dropping but I couldn’t help notice that you guys spoke in Spanish some, then in English, and back and forth. Why was that?” One of the guys laughed and said, “Sometimes my Spanish isn’t too good, so I’ll use English for words that I can’t remember in Spanish.” I told them how cool it was that they knew two languages well enough to converse in both. I wish I was that fluent in two languages!
But, then I got to thinking. I DO speak in two languages. I speak the language of faith and, unfortunately, the language of doubt. I’m quite bi-lingual when it comes right down to it. There are times I’ve spoken from a heart so filled with faith that it seemed I couldn’t be shaken. But, there are also times I’ve spoken fluently in the language of doubt, with a strong accent of fear and worry. And, to be quite honest, there have been times I’ve spoken in both within the same sentence. I’ve said things like, “I know God is in control, but I’m a little concerned about how things are going to turn out.” If that’s not bi-lingual I don’t know what is! I’ve done it so fluently that I didn’t even catch that I was speaking in two TOTALLY DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.
I bet you’re bi-lingual too, just like me. Trust me, I don’t want to be, and I hope you don’t either. Truth is, we’ll never be effective in God’s kingdom if we’re talking in both languages at the same time.
MY PRAYER FOR TODAY:
“Lord, help me to speak the language of faith so often, so frequently, that I totally forget how to speak the language of doubt. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.”
Psalm 141:3
Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.
