Read Proverbs 25:11

Like Jell-O, concepts assume the mould of the words into which they are poured. Who has not been stabbed awake by the use of a particular word...or combinations of words? Who has not found relief from a well-timed word spoken at the precise moment of need? Who has not been crushed beneath the weight of an ill-chosen word? And who has not gathered fresh courage because a word of hope penetrated the fog of self-doubt? The term word remains the most powerful of all four-letter words.

Colours fade.

Shorelines erode.

Temples crumble.

Empires fall.

But "a word fitly spoken" endures.

Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Wisdom for the Way (Nashville: J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2001). Copyright © 2001 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.