Talk to Yourself

September 16, 2022

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7 NKJV

People talk to us all day. From social media to sermons to friendly conversations to the news we choose to hear, and more, many voices are in our ears, affecting our moods, our affections, our decisions—our lives. But no voice influences us more than our own. Paul David Tripp speaks of this in his devotional New Morning Mercies: “No one is more influential in your life than you are because no one talks to you more than you do. We never stop talking to ourselves…. The things you say to you about you, God, and life are profoundly important because they form and shape the way you then respond to the things God has put on your plate.”

We are constantly communicating with ourselves, interpreting the words of others and the events that happen around us. That can be quite good or quite dangerous, depending on how truthful our self-communication is. It is vital that we ground ourselves in truth, the truth of God, so we can reject the thoughts that are deceptive and build on those that are solid. Just positive self-talk won’t help us—it must be truthful. I must make sure it is grounded in a faithful representation of God and spoken by faithful voices.

Start and stick with foundational truth when voices are clamoring for your focus:

1.  God is faithful. No temptation, heartache, struggle, will keep Him from me. Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 NLT

2. Your identity is firmly fixed in Jesus. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 NLT

3. Jesus is always with me. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20 NLT

4. Forgiveness is mine when I confess. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 1 John 1:9 NLT

5. Nothing will ever separate me from God’s love—not even the hardest thing on my worst day. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?... No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35, 37-39 NLT

  • Don’t just talk to yourself randomly. Speak God’s truth—and LISTEN.