Your Words Go to the Root: How Jesus Used His Tongue to Change What Life Gave Him

Have you been accepting whatever life hands you — even when you don’t like it?

Maybe it’s a diagnosis. Maybe it’s a financial situation. Maybe it’s words somebody spoke over you years ago that are still steering your ship. Jesus didn’t accept what life gave Him. When the fig tree didn’t produce, He didn’t shrug and walk away. He opened His mouth and changed the outcome. Today I want to show you that what He did with that tree is exactly what He’s teaching you to do with your life.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue — and you can’t afford to be passive.

We’ve been building this all series. James says your tongue is a rudder. Solomon says death and life are in its power. And now Jesus is about to demonstrate it in real time.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 18:21 NKJV

If your tongue never moves, death is the automatic result. That’s the default setting of a cursed earth. It’s like being in a stream flowing downhill — take your paddle out of the water and you’re going downstream whether you want to or not. You don’t have to say anything wrong. You just have to say nothing at all.

I will not sit passively by while someone uses the power of their tongue to negatively affect my life. I was on a platform one time with some incredible leaders, and a pastor said to the whole room, “At some point, all of us up here will have a family member with a debilitating disease.”

I bowed my head and spoke directly into my microphone: “That will never happen to me. The Owen family is a family free from tragedy, and there will be no debilitating disease in my family.”

It went out through the whole room. My friends weren’t surprised. They know I actually believe Proverbs 18:21. If someone speaks death over me, I’m not taking it. My tongue will speak life — and life will win.

Jesus didn’t accept what the fig tree offered Him.

Now look at what Jesus did in Mark 11.

And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season of figs. In response, Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.”

Mark 11:13–14 NKJV

Here’s what I want you to notice. Jesus was hungry. He wanted a snack. This wasn’t a life-or-death emergency. He wasn’t starving, crawling through the dirt, about to collapse. He just wanted figs.

And when the tree didn’t have any — even though it wasn’t fig season — He didn’t shrug and say, “Well, I guess that’s just the way it is.” He didn’t accept what life handed Him. He opened His mouth and changed the situation.

Your words go to the root — not the leaves.

Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.

Mark 11:20 NKJV

Notice where the drying started. Not at the leaves. Not at the branches. From the roots. The disciples didn’t see it happening the moment Jesus spoke. They saw the result the next day.

When you start speaking the Word of God over your situation, sometimes it takes time to see it on the surface. But the work is already happening at the root level. Your words are going deeper than you can see, attacking the source of the problem — not just the symptoms.

That’s actually what you want. You don’t want a surface fix that comes back in six months. You want the root dealt with so the problem never grows again.

Jesus explained exactly why it worked.

Peter was amazed. He said, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree You cursed has withered.”

And Jesus didn’t say, “Well, I’m the Son of God — only I can do that.” He said:

Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

Mark 11:22–23 NKJV

Whoever. Not just Jesus. Not just apostles. Whoever. And the key isn’t volume or intensity — it’s belief. Does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done.

Now, people act like Mark 11 came out of nowhere — like this is some radical new doctrine that the “name it and claim it” crowd invented. I’ve been teaching on the power of words for eight blogs now, and I’m just now getting to Mark 11. Why? Because this principle runs through the entire Bible. Solomon taught it. James taught it. Jesus demonstrated it. This is not new. It’s foundational.

This wasn’t even about a need — it was about a want.

Here’s something that changes the way people look at this passage. Most teachers act like this principle only works for mountains — giant, life-altering crises. But Jesus used it on a snack.

He wanted figs. The tree didn’t have any. He spoke to it.

If He’ll use His tongue over something that small, what does that tell you about how He expects you to use yours? Over everything. Not just the big stuff. Over your Tuesday. Over your commute. Over the conversation you’re about to have with your boss. Over the meal you’re about to eat. Over the thought that just fired at your mind.

Jesus didn’t reserve His tongue for emergencies. He used it as a lifestyle. And that’s what James is teaching you to do — the tongue as a rudder means it’s always in the water, always steering, always active.

You have to believe what you say comes to pass.

Here’s the part most people skip. Jesus said, “Does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done.”

It’s not enough to just say the words. You have to believe them. That’s why I spend time every day reminding myself: “I do not doubt in my heart, but I believe what I say comes to pass.” Over and over. Not because I’m trying to convince God. Because I’m trying to convince me.

If you don’t believe your words carry power, you’ll never use the rudder with any conviction. And a rudder you barely touch doesn’t turn anything.

Grab the rudder. Speak to the tree. Change your life.

Your tongue is not decoration. It’s not just for prayer meetings and worship songs. It is the rudder of your life, the bridle of your body, and the weapon Jesus Himself used to change what life was handing Him.

If you don’t like where you’re headed, open your mouth and turn the ship. If somebody spoke death over you, open your mouth and speak life. If the fig tree in front of you has no fruit, don’t accept it — speak to it.

Your words go to the root. Believe what you say. Fight To Win.