Psalm 34:12-14 - Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous?
Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies!
Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

Several years ago, my mother-in-law passed away, she was a strong Christian woman, and she genuinely loved Jesus. She was born on Christmas day and loved sharing her birthday with Jesus. She always said she received double blessings on Christmas because it was her birthday. She was the youngest of seven children and always felt loved and cherished by her family and church friends. My mother-in-law would always say, “I am good to everybody, and everyone likes me.” We lived a great distance away from each other. I lived in California and her in Florida. Still, she would always say to me in every phone conversation, “I have always been good to you, and I never say anything negative about you, right?” And I would reply to her, “Yes, mom, you have always been good to me”! When she passed away in her nineties, she was surrounded by family, well-wishers, and church friends. She didn’t have to apologize to anyone; she had no regrets, no bad feelings about herself, had a gratifying smile on her face knowing she had been good to everyone around her. She always looked content with herself because she knew she had never talked negatively about herself or others. 

One of the keys I have learned from my mother-in-law is not to talk negatively about others and not to talk negatively, especially about yourself. 

My mother-in-law lived a long and prosperous life. She felt good about herself, and hundreds of people loved her. Wow, she was prosperous in her relationships. And that is what God desires for you! In Psalm 34:12, he gives us some of the keys to prosper, and one of them is don’t talk negatively, especially about yourself! 

Psalm 34:12-14 says, “Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.”

We are all looking for keys to prosper and live long. God wants to prosper, favor and bless you because He is your dad. He wants to help you live a long, successful, and happy life because He loves you. He wants you to have good relationships without feeling bad all the time because you talk negatively about yourself and others. God created and designed you with His purpose in mind, and because He is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, He will direct you on how to have a successful flourishing finish in every area of life. 

The Five Ways to Prosper according to Psalms 34:12-14

1. Don’t speak evil about yourself or others. Don’t talk negative about yourself, don’t say it, and don’t think it.  Sometimes we put ourselves down by thinking, “I am dumb, I always cause problems, I have no real talent, and I could never accomplish anything.” Instead, we must teach ourselves to hear what God is saying in the Bible about us. Here are a few scriptures that we can start thinking, “I can do all things through Christ Jesus. I am more than a conquerer. God is at work for me.” God said you would prosper if you don’t speak negatively about yourself and others - this is an excellent reason to stop.

2. Don’t tell lies. Ask God to help you overcome lies, whether you tend to exaggerate stories, tell small fibs to your boss, hide the truth from your spouse or just tell an outright lie. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you why you lie. Is it to get ahead, to be liked, or because you are afraid of the consequences?  Pray and ask God to help you overcome this trap; we can easily fall into an excuse. Daily repent of any and all lies. God said you would prosper if you don’t lie; this is an excellent reason to stop telling lies.

3. Turn away from evil. Pray and ask God if there is anything in your life you need to turn away from. Maybe someone at work you shouldn’t hang out with, something you are watching that gives you a bad feeling, or perhaps you are mistreating someone out of jealously? Jesus wants us to forgive others and ourselves and turn away from evil.  God said you would prosper if you turn away from evil; honestly, this is an excellent reason to be good.

4. Do good. When you are confronted with doing good or evil, the Bible encourages us to choose good. Turn toward doing something good. Ask the Holy Spirit, “What good can I do, how can I create peace, or how can I love in my present circumstance?” If you will do good, God promises to prosper you. 

5. Search for peace. We are living in troubling times, and as Christians, we are supposed to be at peace. How do you search for peace? One way I do this is to look for scriptures about peace and write them down. When I feel anxious, I read them, and then I pray for them. God said He would prosper us if we search for peace in all our circumstances. 

God promise’s us prosperity and long life if we don’t speak negatively of ourselves and others, don’t lie, turn away from evil, do good and search for peace.  

Psalm 34:12-14 says... Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it

I am so thankful for what I learned from my mother-in-law and from your life too. We would love to hear from you; share with us and let us know what you have learned from a mom in your life.

Women are wonderful people! We love and value you. Tell us what we can pray for you about? 

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SINCE 2016 FAME Women is the women’s ministry of City Church San Diego. Together we are dedicated to helping women fulfill their dreams, unlock their miracles, and live their happiest life.