ever feel stuck?

If you're like me and you struggle with your speech, feeling stuck is a daily experience.  I am talking about feeling stuck in your ability to change for more than a day or maybe even for more than an hour on a rough day.

I went to the Power of Words and the Wonder of God conference with one simple prayer.  It sort of came out of a feeling of dread and fear due to the anticipation of the messages that I believed would strike me with deep conviction.   When you feel stuck, conviction is not really what you want.  You want quick solutions to what is always a much deeper problem.  Or, you get used to being stuck and you get comfortable.  At least I do.  So I went to the conference half scared to take a hard, serious look at my "talk problem", as Paul Tripp calls it.

What I heard was not what I expected to hear but it's what I needed to hear.  Here are two quotes that set the foundation for me.  Almost immediately, they wiped away my fears and refocused my attention on what matters most - the glory of God.

"The greatest aid is to have the word of God preached over me so that it can do its spiritual work in me.  God's word sanctifies.  All my vain efforts to train my tongue will be left in the past because He will transform me through His word."   - Sinclair Ferguson

"The gospel is so robust that we don't need to be afraid of looking at the trouble of our talk."    - Paul Tripp

If you find yourself battling with speech, these two messages in particular will serve you well.  They are free online to listen to or watch right here.