How We Tell the Story Matters
“Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.”
Psalm 34:13
Telling the story of how God captured our hearts, led us to faith and repentance, and transformed our lives is often called sharing our testimony. Testimonies are powerful opportunities for believers to declare their confidence in the Lord, not only in what He has done in redeeming them, but in what He will continue to do for them as they walk in obedience, and how God longs to do this for others. These shared stories allow the church family to praise God together for His saving work in the lives of the people. They are a declaration of what God has done and an invitation to join in praising Him.
David begins Psalm 34 by declaring his story of confidence in the Lord. He tells a story of continual praise and invites his listeners to join him in magnifying the Lord. Throughout the first 11 verses, David intersperses a call to join the praise with details from his testimony.
David invites the humble to “magnify” and “exalt” the Lord (v3) because those who “look to him are radiant and unashamed” (v5). He implores the hearer to “taste and see the Lord is good” (8), to fear the Lord (9) and listen to him (11). He speaks of himself as a poor man who cried out to God, and the Lord heard. The Lord saved him from his troubles. His story is an invitation to believe that if God could hear, answer, deliver, save, and redeem him, then He can do this for the reader. He invites the people to come, listen, and fear the Lord (11).
Wisdom
The rest of the Psalm is filled with wisdom for the righteous. The man who wants to see good (12) must do good (14). The details of how this goodness plays out in the lives of the redeemed are sandwiched in between those statements, the redeemed should keep their tongues from evil (13). This command is so important that he rephrases it in the last part of the sentence, “keep your lips from speaking deceit.” The list continues. Turn from evil, do good, seek peace, pursue peace (14).
Troubles
David acknowledges that the righteous will face troubles. The righteous will cry, be brokenhearted, crushed, and afflicted (12-19). But our souls can boast in the Lord because God delivers us. He slays the wicked and condemns those who hate the righteous (21). None who take refuge in God will be condemned (22).
Ponder
If the redeemed should keep their tongues from evil (13), should redeemed authors keep their pens from evil? Should we keep our words from communicating deceit? How do we turn from evil, do good, seek peace, and pursue peace (14) while telling stories of brokenness and redemption?
Pray
Lord, we hear the wisdom of this passage. As Your children, the words we write and speak should be truthful, good, and peaceful. As we craft the necessary scenes to illustrate the fallen state of characters, we ask for the Spirit’s help to show the awfulness of life apart from You. We ask for the Spirit’s help to create character arcs that illustrate the saving power of Christ. Give us the courage to write boldly and the wisdom to differentiate between necessary details and sensationalism.