“The Lord GOD has given Me
The tongue of the learned,
That I should know how to speak
A word in season to him who is weary.”

The speaker prophetically anticipated in our verse for today is Jesus Christ, but the words could be spoken by anyone who is in Christ Jesus, anyone who has been indwelt by the Spirit of Christ Jesus.

The world is full of weary people. The world is full of people who are burdened down with sin and guilt. They are people who have been trying to make it in life on their own, people who have been trying to do the right thing on their own. They are weary because they cannot carry the load. No one can.

Jesus had a word for such people. He said to them, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). Jesus’ word for such people was that they should lay down the burden, or yoke, that they had been trying to carry and take up His yoke, because His yoke is easy. Indeed, all you have to do to carry it is believe in Him.

Like Jesus, those indwelt by the Spirit of Christ Jesus have been given something by the Lord God. We have been given “the tongue of the learned.” We have been given the ability to speak the right word at the right time. When we encounter the weary, we know what to say. The weary have come to the season in their lives when they are ready to give up, ready to quit trying to carry the burden. We have the word they need to hear at that time.

A “word in season” is the most important thing one could ever give someone. When someone has reached the breaking point, when someone has reached the point when they are ready to quit trying, a word in season can turn their life around. It can literally be life-saving.

If you are a Christian, then you have something very important. You have a learned tongue. You have a life-changing word for the weary.

By John Huisman