I Will Not Quit

Words are powerful.  Spoken words can be even more powerful.  There is something about hearing yourself say something out loud that makes it stick, for better or worse.  

As I have been starting this "Couch To 5K" training program, I have found one of the most impactful things I can do while I am jogging and growing weary is to say out loud, "I WILL NOT QUIT!"  (Thankfully I jog early in the mornings and no one is around to hear me act like a crazy person.)  It seems that I could say, "I will not quit" silently in my head one hundred times and it wouldn't have the same impact as saying it once, out loud, with conviction.

This makes me think.  What behaviors, habits, attitudes have I been trying to change unsuccessfully that I haven't actually voiced?  In addiction counseling their mantra is that the first step is "admitting that you have a problem." I'm thinking that first step gets you a whole lot farther down the road to recovery when you admit it OUT LOUD.  And not just to hear yourself talk.  I've said plenty of things out loud that had little to no impact on my attitude or actions... but my reasons for saying those things were off.  It wasn't humble confession, it was attention-seeking.  If attention seeking is our motivation, then it ain't gonna work.

Of course, there will be times when no matter what I say out loud and no matter how much conviction I muster, I'm going to fail.  God is the only one whose Word always accomplishes what he intends it to, whose Word "never returns void."  It makes sense then, to make our words match His Word, doesn't it.  

Isaiah 55:11 - "So is my word that goes out from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." NIV

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