I imagine we all talk to ourselves throughout the day. Sometimes we ask things like, “Where did I put my phone?” Or “What did I come in here for?”
Sometimes we commiserate with ourselves about the driver who just cut us off in traffic or the rude salesperson.
We might berate ourselves when we’ve done something we think is dumb. Or congratulate ourselves when we feel we have done something well.
Occasionally, our self-talk goes much deeper. Hard times come, and we conclude God doesn’t love us. A time of suffering drags on, and we feel there’s no hope in sight.
There are multitudes of reasons to read the Bible. One is that we might discern truth from falsehood–not only in others, but also in ourselves.
I love this quote before from David Martyn-Lloyd Jones in Spiritual Depression:
Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them but they are talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, “Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you.”
The psalms provide multitudes of examples of the writer correcting his wrong thoughts and encouraging himself with God’s truth. They show the writer coming to God with a problem or an issue: Where are you? Why are you not acting? The wicked are faring better than Your people. I’m hurting here. People are persecuting me for no reason.
And then the writer reminds himself of truths about his God: He’s here. He loves us. He cares. The wicked will face consequences some day if they don’t repent. God will strengthen me and help me.
We don’t have to live at the mercy of thoughts running rampant or dragging us down. We take our thoughts captive. We can search our Bibles, turn to familiar helpful passages, and ask God to remind us of His truth. We renew our minds with His Word.
(A few lines here have been taken from a couple of previous posts.)
(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)
Stray Thoughts 
This is so good! I too love the Jones quote–I feel like, at least in our culture, it seems to be assumed that any thoughts/emotions we have are “just the way I am” and not something we can challenge or change. This is a wonderful nudge to tell myself truth, as the Psalmist did.
So well said, Barbara! I heard a sermon on this not too long ago and I’ve also read a book (I believe it was by John Owen) in which the entire book was dedicated to that one verse (Psalm 42:5). It’s one that I’ve never forgotten. One thing that I love about the Psalms is how David encourages himself in the Lord.
I love that about David and the other psalmist, too. I’m so glad God included these in Scripture.
Barbara – this is so good, this invitation to ‘discern truth from falsehood–not only in others, but also in ourselves.’
It’s much easier and more convenient to be looking at everyone else. Inviting the Holy Spirit to do His work deep in the recesses of our own soul is a whole other story.
Thank you for this needed reminder.
Thank you, Linda. I’m thankful the Holy Spirit gently opens our eyes to our misconceptions and misjudgment and points us to truth.
That’s a good quote!
I had to learn how to take every thought captive at various times in my life regarding some spine issues as well as an issue when our youngest needed surgery at 10 weeks old. Satan sure did try to steal my joy and attack me via my thoughts. I love waking up, giving God my day and saying Ok God…..fill my mind with Your Words…and then I get into the Scriptures to set the tone for the day. Wish I had done more of that when I was younger.
The way in which the psalmist gives himself a talking to is something I try to remember. “We don’t have to live at the mercy of thoughts running rampant or dragging us down.” Amen. We can fight back, turning to Scriptures, and encouraging ourselves with God’s Word. I’m finding we must do that quickly, before our thoughts take us in the wrong direction. This is a wise reminder for all of us. Thank you!
That’s true, Joanne–Too often I let my thoughts run amok before remembering I need to replace them with truth.
“Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?” That is certainly worth remembering!
It is–that sentence has stuck with me for years. I still need to put it into practice more often.
Thanks you for this Barbara. God is our trustworthy encourager. Every word of His is true. And I think I must look up Jones’ book!
I’ve read Jones’ book a couple of times but would love to do so again.
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Hello, this is one of my features for SSPS #400! Thank you for sharing with us.
Thanks so much, Melynda!
Barbara, the concept of talking to ourselves instead of listening to ourselves has been so helpful for me. I love the quote you shared too. We are not, as you point out, at the mercy of our thoughts. That’s so comforting!