Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada and here’s a children’s story for you…
Okay, here we go! Missy, a little girl around 8 years old, had memorized Proverbs 15:1 where it says, “A soft answer turns away wrath.” And every day, Missy’s mom encouraged her to pray that God would help her to give soft answers if someone was unkind to her, like at school or at recess. Well, Missy’s friend Janet came over one Saturday afternoon to play during which time Janet came up with the idea to put Missy’s dolls in the bathtub to give them a bath. Well, Missy simply said, “Oh no, we can’t do that. My mom told me to never put these dolls in water.” At which point Janet became angry and insisted that she was going to go home. Now before, Missy would have chipped right in and said, “Well, then go home!” But that was before she memorized Proverbs 15:1, that a soft answer turns away wrath. So when Janet reached for her things to go home, Missy took her arm and said, “I'm sorry, Janet, I want you to be my friend but I can’t go against my mom.” At first, Janet didn’t know how to take this, but when she heard her friend speak with such soft words, she turned and smiled, “Oh, Missy, I'm sorry. I really don’t want to give your dolls a bath anyway. Let’s just be friends.”
The Holy Spirit helped Missy remember and obey God's Word – that’s the point of the story… the Word that she had hidden in her heart. She obeyed the Lord, gave a kind answer to her friend, and it stopped the argument before it even got started. And something even more wonderful happened at that point, too. God was glorified because Missy obeyed His Word.
Now… what I just read for you was straight out of a wonderful little children’s book called “My ABC Bible Verses Book.” But you know what? It’s a lesson for all of us. I mean, this is just a story for kids, right? Wrong! It’s for everyone. We live in such an angry culture where people are quick to think the worst… a culture where if we are crossed, even in the slightest, we feel we have the right to retaliate or yell back or turn and leave or get even. And I'm not talking about “the world;” I'm talking about believers. We are way too influenced by the way non-Christians respond to insults and injuries. Friend, you and I need to remember that a soft answer turns away wrath – more than that, we need to do what Missy did: pray that God would help us put it into practice; and then, when the opportunity does arise, when we find ourselves in a flare-up, then diffuse it with a soft answer… with kind words… with a gentle tone of voice. It’s what Missy did and you know what? A little child should lead us, right?!
And listen, friend, if you enjoyed the little story I shared earlier and lesson about Proverbs 15, then I’ve got a whole book full of verses and stories to share. It’s a beautiful hard-back book called “My ABC Bible Verses Book” and I’d love to send you a copy to share with the children in your life (or, hey, you just may want to memorize the verses and put them into practice in your own life)! Just contact me today at joniandfriends.org and ask for your free copy. Again, that’s joniandfriends.org. Finally, I encourage you to memorize Proverbs 15:1 today. It’s short and simple, here it is: “A soft answer turns away wrath.” Got it? Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turns away wrath.” Okay now, friend, ask the Lord to help you to do just that tomorrow at the office or this evening around the dinner table. For when you give that kind answer, God will be glorified… all because you memorized and obeyed His Word.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
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