Talk to Yourself

My husband and 39 of our high school students and youth staff are out-of-state at our national youth conference this week. My heart and mind have been filled with thoughts of them. So many of us back home are praying for God to capture their hearts. We're praying that their hearts and lives will be fully yielded and surrendered to Him.

While I'm praying regularly for God to do something big in the lives of our kids, I'm ever-mindful that He wants to do something big in me this week, too. Simply because I'm not attending a fantastic, bigger-than-life youth conference doesn't mean that I miss the boat. Where do I need God to change me? How can I serve those around me? What areas of my life am I living in direct disobedience to His Word? How can I better pace with our boys and model a life of holiness...obedience...surrender?

Yep, God has been working on me this week, too. Yesterday I completed a short little book by C.J. Mahaney entitled, "The Cross-Centered Life." While the book was brief, I can tell you that I'll be chewing on nuggets of truth for a looooong time. I frequently found myself writing down concepts and adding quotes to my familiar and beloved black and white toile journal.

One of the quotes that struck a chord with me is as follows:
"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?" ~ David Martyn Lloyd-Jones

So what does it mean?

When I'm listening to myself, I hear a myriad of ever-changing messages, depending on my particular circumstances, whether they be good or bad.

I don't feel like running today.
Why doesn't he ever put the seat down?
What did she mean by that remark?
Did you see what she's wearing?
What if the diagnosis is bad?
Gotta run the boys to their games...
Ugh...the laundry is piled up.
Oh, man, I blew it...
Why hasn't he called?
Not another meeting...
How are we going to pay for that?

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Admittedly, this is a look inside my head, often before mid-morning. Before I know it, I'm stressed and cranky and overwhelmed.
And I realize anew how much of my life, my outlook, and my decisions are based on how I feel, rather than what I know.

"The evangelical orientation is inward and subjective. We are far better at looking inward than we are at looking outward. Instead, we need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing, and extolling Jesus Christ." ~ Sinclair Ferguson

What if, instead of listening to ourselves, we talked to ourselves? Meaning, what if we purposefully remind ourselves of the truth of God's Word and character? What if we repeatedly remind ourselves of the gospel of Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross?

I'm so prone to work myself into a tizzy as I dwell on conjecture, assumptions, and possible scenarios! I can get so discouraged and distracted by circumstances and the stuff of life.

Oh, that I would talk to myself! Christ died for my sins! He took my punishment so that I can be forgiven and have new, abundant life in Him. That truth didn't affect me only on the day I received Him as my Savior, nor is it important only on the day I die and go to live with Him. It impacts me everyday in the here and now...it changes my passions and my thinking. It changes everything.

Let's talk to ourselves...when we get up in the morning feeling discouraged; when the tasks ahead seem daunting; when the diagnosis is uncertain; when the relationship is strained. God's grace is sufficient for every need we face.