I heard and read about it few years ago but I’ve never tried to put it into practice because, I guess, I wasn’t that much convicted or something. But now, hands down! The truth in it made me a believer!
What am I talking about?
“Self-talk!”
Self-talk means, you talk to yourself. No, I am not saying, loudly, but quietly, internally. Just listen now. Yes, now. Do you hear yourself talking to you?
Yeah, now, what I am telling you is this: You talk to “self.”
Why?
Well, “self” usually pulls us down as it tends to live by sight only and it only picks on the negative side of life. (You can call it “your thoughts” talking to you.) The Bible puts it clearly as to what kind of thing we need to “think” about 24/7 if we want to lead a peaceful life:
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And THE GOD OF PEACE will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9)
Prior verses read like this:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And THE PEACE OF GOD, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
“The God of peace” and “the peace of God” will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus!
I mean, think about it! No peace, no focus. No focus, so safety. We become easy targets for our enemy’s attack.
But we need to know how to talk to “self.”
Guess who was good at “self-talk” in the Bible?
Yeap! You guessed it! King David.
“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 43:5)
He is pretty much saying to his soul, “You foolish! How dare you feel sad while You have a Savior like a Mighty God!”
“Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:1-5)
He is saying, “What? I can’t praise God today???? Let me remind you what you’ve so far received from God,” and he listed them all, all the eternal gifts of God.
Self-talk is a powerful weapon that gives a chance for the word of God to work in and through us.
When we wake up in the morning, “self” begins to talk to us, doesn’t it?
“Ugh! I can’t believe it is already morning! And it is Black Monday! I hate this!”
Does this sound familiar? Yes, “self” lives by sight ONLY. Don’t forget that.
Instead of listening to “self” talking to you; you, the believer who called to live by faith not by sight, start talking to “self”. (2 Corinthians 5:7)
“This is a beautiful day that the Lord has made just for me so I can glorify His name once again. So, I will rejoice in this day and be glad in it. Rejoice, my soul! I will say it again, rejoice in the LORD!” (Psalm 118:24, Philippians 4:4)
“Self” may try to speak to you, “You foolish! It is cloudy and you are going to face the same nasty boss, aren’t you? And you are going to struggle with the same nasty sin today too. What made you think that this day would be any different from the other days? Get real! And tomorrow will even be worse than this. Believe me.”
Since two people cannot speak at the same time, you continue speaking to “self”: “My soul, listen to me. The Lord is your light and your salvation. He is the stronghold of your life. Who are you afraid of? Don’t worry for tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry for itself. You have today as a present from your God to love and adore Him, to glorify and praise Him alone! His power will be perfect in your weakness. God allocates enough grace for you for today as a faithful shepherd prepares everything for his sheep. You prayed saying “Give me my daily bread,” and He is faithful to do just that. So, rejoice in Him” and continue praising Him with songs! (psalm 24:1, Matthew 6:34, Psalm 118:24, Philippians 4:4, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Psalm 23:1, Matthew 6:11, Psalm 103:1)
Oh, my! Songs of praise work like magic! I am serious!
“Self” pulls us down as it pressures us to focus on the lie and the half-full glass of life. And if we gaze on the half-full glass of life a bit longer, we run out of a reason to praise God. We stop counting our blessings, instead we start counting all the wrongs and bad things that happened to us. Then we complain about each and everything. And when praises are taken out of our mouth, the joy of the LORD, which is our strength, dissipates from our lives. (Nehemiah 8:10)
So, my friend, by adopting “self-talk” technique, let’s hold on to that precious thankful and grateful heart that attracts God into our lives for God loves to dwell in the praises of His people.
Our soul will listen to the one who speaks the truth for the truth has power to destroy the devil’s lie, one by one. So, don’t hold back! Speak the truth you know to yourself, and renew your soul and redeem your day!
No, don’t let “self” talk to you; you talk to “self”.
Paul puts it this way: “We fight with weapons that are different from those the world uses. Our weapons have power from God that can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy people’s arguments and every proud thing that raises itself against the knowledge of God. WE CAPTURE EVERY THOUGHT AND MAKE IT GIVE UP AND OBEY CHRIST.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NCV)
Did you hear that? Every thought!
So, when “self” tries to talk to you, you say, “No! You listen to me, you-trouble-maker!”
No discussion with “self”. We speak to “self” and make “self” give up and obey the word of God, Christ Jesus. (By the way, I’m not talking about “positive talk” therapy here. Please don’t mix that up with this.)
Anyways, this is the bottom line: I am trying to develop this new habit called “self-talk”. It technically takes a person up to three 21 consecutive days, they say, to form a new habit. Well, practically speaking, it can take several years if we consider many factors and variables that can affect our decision, conviction and other things.
So, may God help me to be patient with myself until I develop this “worthwhile to develop” new habit! If you want to, you can join me in this challenging journey of making “self-talk” a life pattern.
One of my favorite Christian authors, Dr. David Stoop, speaks extensively about this “self-talk” in his two famous books, “You are what You think” and “Rethink what You think.” ///