During my university years, I befriended a small group of people who believed in the principle of “speaking life.” In short, since the power of life and death lies in the tongue, one must be careful what one says out loud, as that can determine one’s life course. I remember being rebuked for using expressions like “that joke killed,” because I was speaking of death. Even worse, I had constant chronic health issues since infancy. Whenever I felt ill, and said as much, I was rebuked and told to “speak life,” and [pro]claim my health. It might not surprise you that I began avoiding these friends when sick and that I was intentional about hiding my struggles from them. Years later, after some blood tests, I learned that the issue was a food allergy. No number of positive mantras or affirmations would have solved this. I was not sick because I said I was sick. I was sick because I ate the wrong foods.  

This reluctance to acknowledge bad news and claim what one wants to be true has plagued the Pentecostal and Charismatic church for quite some time. However, it is not new. Matthew records a well-known exchange between Jesus and Peter following Jesus’s revelation to his disciples that he will go to Jerusalem, suffer, be killed, and be raised (Mat 16:21). Peter takes Jesus aside and rebukes him: “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” Jesus’s response is sharp: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man (v. 23).”

Jesus was proclaiming the Kingdom of God, which arose certain expectations among his followers. The coming Messiah was expected to bring political freedom and reign to God’s people. God’s kingdom was expected to boast of wealth, power, and prosperity, and Jesus, the king, was meant to restore the earthly kingdom to Israel. He was not supposed to suffer and be killed. Naturally, Peter vehemently protested such speech. Jesus hits the nail on the head by asserting that these expectations come not from God, but from man. Even in Jesus’s commissioning of the twelve, he acknowledges both that they will heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons (10:8), and be captured, flogged (10:17), and hated (10:22). They are even told to flee a town when persecuted (10:23). Their encouragement in all of this is not that God will put a stop to it or that he will intervene. Rather, their value before the Father, who sees all and who will acknowledge them eternally, is affirmed (10:26–33). Therefore, they need not fear.

The “speak life” movement rests on a fundamental misunderstanding that God’s glory cannot be seen in brokenness and adversity. When it comes to the things of God, there is often a tension. On the one side, we can petition and trust God for miracles and healing, and on the other side, we can be content with the sufficiency of his grace when a breakthrough does not happen. Our desire to see good things come to fruition should never lead us to believe and proclaim a lie—we are encouraged to ponder that which is both uplifting and true (Phil 4:8). Sometimes, what is true does not appear uplifting. Yet, when we look at it through eternal and faith-filled eyes, we can see the presence, love, and purpose of God. I learned in my life that my sickness did not offend or embarrass God. The miracle of contentment, the loving support of my church family, and the humility and compassion that God worked in me during that season testified to his presence in my life. I did not need to deny suffering in order to “speak life”—I simply needed to proclaim the Living God.