According to Genesis, God spoke the world as we know it into existence. So, I pondered how powerful sound must be. The Bible also says in Proverbs 18:21,
“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” How potent are the words we say! Further, it is found in Matthew 12:37 that by our own words, we will be acquitted or condemned. Now, it is clearer to me why Romans 10:9-10 (emphasis mine) says, 9 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” What we say out loud has power. Even as it relates to when we fall short or sin. 1 John 1:9 (emphasis mine) says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” And I am sure you know where our words come from - the heart. Matthew 12:34b says, “The mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Wow! That’s why it’s so important to guard our hearts (Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”).
Forgive this, perhaps, weak analogy, but we are a boom box or a sound box that is guided by the inner mechanics of our heart. The heart is literally how we live. So, this, too, underscores how powerful are the words we say. Thank God that His words are the most powerful. So, knowing His Word and filling our hearts and minds with It is of utmost importance.
Now, when the topic of out of sound, out of mind came to me, it seemed to be a play on the cliche we are more familiar with, which is out of sight, out of mind. Now that my mind is being overcome with the remembrance of Scripture, a better subject might be out of sound, out of power, or out of godly sound, out of power. It’s no wonder, when we rebel or backslide, that we don’t want to hear anything about God, His Word, or the gospel, whether through spoken words or music. God’s Word does not return back void; It produces what He sends it out to do (Isaiah 55:8-11). Might I even suggest that’s why reading the Bible is so neglected at times, because when we read, we hear the words we read in our heads, in our built-in Air Pods. The Word of God is alive and active; It is dynamic (Hebrews 4:12).
Oh, this causes me to understand that our thoughts are also a part of our inner mechanics. Do we not audibly hear our thoughts? Jesus heard the thoughts of some during His time on earth, according to Matthew 9:4. Guess what? Our thoughts come from our hearts (Matthew 15:19; Mark 7:21; Luke 11:17). Lord, increase our faith. Oh, but “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17, NKJV). As our faith increases from hearing the Word of God, then we exercise our faith by what we say, as in Mark 11:22-25.
Lord, please give us ears to hear you and hearts to respond so that we can
produce the right kind of fruit that brings you glory. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Now, allow me to pivot to a few other possibilities of what out of sound, out of mind or out of power means. What we hear matters. When the truth is withheld, or when realities are unspoken and ignored, or when stories are unheard, then they have no power - out of sound, out of mind. That’s why testimonies are necessary in the courtroom and in life (Revelations 12:10-11). It’s no wonder why radio is still alive even with the
technological advances that exist today and talk shows and podcasts and so on and on. We need sound to exist, to function, to live, to create, to produce. But my hope is that we hear the right sound and say the right words and produce the right outcome or fruit.