Talk To Yourself!

Sunday, July 31

The title to this post is makin' me laugh a little on the inside, because one of my new roomies, Mal, recently confessed the reason why she doesn't frequent local coffee shops: she talks to herself all the time, moves her hands around, even, and doesn't want everyone thinking she's a freak.




Despite her feeling like it's weird (and it is, mind you. She's not getting away with it), I'm finding the advice "talk to yourself" to be incredibly helpful this summer.

"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?" --Martyn Lloyd-Jones

TRUE DAT!!

Today at the gym, I caught myself. After a nice, long swim I was just ellipticalizing upstairs, listening to some Mexican tunes, sweating my brains out, and watching....uh oh....the TV channels that LA Fitness chooses to turn on. Today, the TV directly in front of me was showing ads for some "interesting" training progams...

I won't go into detail with a list of thoughts that I should have taken captive but didn't. Self-pity, jealousy, feelings of entitlement...In moments like those, the seemingly insignificant ones, we need to talk to ourselves. The world is blaring, and we are sucked into its shiny colors and loud noises. We need to have God's truth ready as our sword to fight all our worldly complaints, dissatisfactions, our selfishness, greed, self-pity...

"You were bought with a price."

"He rescued me, because He delighted in me."

"Rejoice ALWAYS."

"Bodily training is of some value, but godliness...."


This is what needs to be hidden in my heart, but deep, deeper still!!

Having the tendency of carrying unnecessary guilt and shame around over my head, this summer it's been especially important to learn to preach the gospel to myself. I read Jerry Bridges' The Discipline of Grace a few months ago, and love clinging to that simple advice.

Preach.

The.

Gospel.

To.

Yourself.


As simple as that. I've slipped up several times this summer (well, every day...), but the difference has been learning to preach the gospel to myself. When before, I'd have sunken into a pit of despair over the sin that God so graciously brought to my attention, I have tried my darndest to fully repent, but then to proceed wholeheartedly preaching to myself.

It is finished. He's cast your sin as far as the east is from the west. He's doing a new thing. He's keeping you. Your sins are like the morning mist. Nothing can separate you from the love of Christ. He died for this. Now, celebrate His rising.


Oh, Lord help us. Help us talk to ourselves with the truth from your Word, our sword, and not only to listen to our hearts where sin is still trying to enter into our hollow places to deceive us and steal our joy. Fill all that is hollow in us, all that is insecure, all that desires the praise of man above your approval, all that wants to make us slaves, whether love of money or comfort or fame or health; fill us with your supreme joy, let us know your riches! In our moments of weakness, of darkness, shine light on the gospel that we might preach it to ourselves daily and treasure your Son as best, high above every "good" thing the world offers instead.