GOD SPEAKS TO US OUT OF OUR OWN MOUTHS Proverbs 16:1 says, “The plans of the mind and orderly thinking belong to man, but from the Lord comes the [wise] answer of the tongue.” Many times God speaks to me out of my own mouth. I learned this when I was in a situation where I didn’t know what to do. My own thoughts left me confused. God gave us rationalization to sort things out, but we can get weary from meditating on something if we’re not on track with His wisdom. I wasn’t getting anywhere with my circumstance until I took a walk with a friend. I was facing a major decision that needed a godly answer, but I couldn’t seem to find God’s leading. My friend and I discussed a certain issue for about an hour as we walked together, enjoying the fresh air and each other’s company. That’s when I learned that sometimes wisdom comes out of our own mouth as we begin to talk to someone about a situation. We talked about the situation and discussed several different possible solutions and their potential outcome. We talked about how good it might be if we handled the situation one way and how bad it might be if we handled it another way. Suddenly one particular answer settled in my heart. What I decided I needed to do wasn’t something I naturally wanted to do. A stubborn mindset is a great enemy of peace. Some of my struggle was because I wanted to convince God my situation should be dealt with differently from the way He was leading me. His voice was difficult to discern because my mind was already set against His plan. We have to be willing to lay aside our own desires or we may miss a clear word from God. Our natural inclination is to manipulate things to work the way we want them to work. Some of our best childhood toys taught us that square pegs won’t fit into round holes, and we must remember our plans don’t always fit God’s ways—no matter how violent we may become trying to make the two work together. While my friend and I reasoned together, a wise answer came out of my mouth that I knew was from the Lord. It didn’t come from my mind, but it rose from my inner being. God promises that if we seek Him, He will fill our mouth (see Psalm 81:10). Jesus promises to give us words and wisdom that none of our adversaries will be able to resist or contradict (see Luke 21:15). I have learned not to discount anything, because God can and does speak through a variety of ways—and not all of them are something we would consider to be particularly spiritual. I have heard God speak to me through children and adults who had no idea that what they were saying was a direct word from the Lord for me. We have to be willing to lay aside our own desires.