Talking to Yourself

At the close of last night's Women's Study, I confessed to my friends that I hadn't even begun to write this morning's blog piece. I asked for help with the topic, and I have to say, they were of no help whatsoever! Their only suggestion was to write about which of the two grocery stores in our town I like the best. I do not want to alienate anybody, so I will decline their kind advice. :-)

Instead, I did what I tell everyone to do when in the midst of a dilemma - DO THE NEXT THING. The "next thing," in my case, was to read another devotional from the Paul David Tripp book A Shelter In The Time Of Storm: Meditations on God and Trouble. As is often the case, I am sorely tempted to just write the whole devotional out, since it is SO very good. But alas, space does not allow, so I am forced to just give the highlights...

The most intriguing statement that Tripp makes is this: "No one is more influential in your life than you are, because no one talks to you more than you do. You are in an unending conversation with yourself. You are talking to yourself all the time, interpreting, organizing, and analyzing what's going on inside of you and around you."

At first this made me laugh, but then it made me think. Hmmm. Maybe this is why I'm such a mess most days. For long periods of time I speak to no one but myself, and I am boring, sinful, fretful, discouraged, angry, and faithless. Tripp points out that we are terrible counselors for ourselves:

"What do you regularly tell yourself about yourself, God, and your circumstances? Do your words to yourself encourage faith, hope, and courage? Or do they stimulate doubt, discouragement, and fear? Do you remind yourself of your need? Do you point yourself, once again, to the beauty and practicality of God's grace? Do you tell yourself to run toward Him in those moments when you feel like running from Him? Would you be comfortable with someone's playing a public recording of the private conversation you have with yourself every day?"

Ouch. That last sentence really hurts. Sounds like we need a better counselor, right? Perhaps someone as described in Isaiah 9:6: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Seeking help from our Wonderful Counselor, reading our Mighty God's words, praying to our Everlasting Father, and submitting to the Prince of Peace sounds much better than listening to my own thoughts. Let me stop thinking like myself and start thinking more like Him.