May 28, 2020
Am I crazy? We ask ourselves in those all too common moments when we catch ourselves talking to ourselves. It seems weird. I hope no one noticed! Am I losing my mind? Well it’s not weird. We talk to ourselves precisely because we have a mind. Notable philosophers have argued through the ages that the essence of being human is self-reflection. Theologians define such speculation as being created in the image of God. Humans have an ability to reflect that animals do not possess. We talk to ourselves in powerful ways. It’s essentially thinking out loud. So talking to yourself is normal.
The real question is- what are you talking to yourself about? Prof. Ed Welch gives sound encouragement in his article on the CCEF (Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation) website. Let me include a portion:
“Speak to yourself when you feel isolated and alone. This is from Psalm 42 and 43, which are the ones best known for how the psalmist speaks to his own soul. “Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Put your hope in God.” One thing we know about being downcast is that, left to itself, the soul can only see the worst and is almost impossible to interrupt. As such, this simple reflection is impossible for us to do alone but it is very possible with God’s power. What a gift this is—to slow down that runaway train of despondency.
Speak to yourself when you need a refuge from hard people. “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him” (Ps. 62:5). Isolation, especially when it comes at the hands of other people, is one of the hardest of human experiences. As a general rule, the harder the experience, the less natural it becomes to talk to the Lord because he too seems distant. So this is a time to put boundaries around that experience and quiet our soul before the Lord.
Speak to yourself when rest is elusive, and the past still haunts you. “Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you” (Ps. 116:7). Something very hard happened to the psalmist and he was delivered, but he is still shaken—a kind of post-traumatic shock. He speaks to himself about how God acted, how God delivered him. God responded to his prayer—he did something good—and he does something good now. He keeps his mind focused on the acting-God. “Bountifully” is implied, “dealt with you” is what the psalm actually says, so the psalmist is essentially saying, “The Lord has dealt with me, which means that he never sits idly but he does something. And, of course, that something is evidence of his lavish love to me. The psalmist is telling himself about God’s past action to encourage his faith in the present.
Speak to yourself when you don’t understand—and feel compelled to understand or compelled to fix something that you can’t fix. “O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me” (Ps. 131:1-2). We tell ourselves that we are not God. Instead, our job is to live out our calling with the matters that are right in front of us, and we trust the Lord for all those things we would like to control but can’t and shouldn’t. In short, “Humble yourself, O my soul, before my God and King. Humble yourself.”
Speak to yourself so you can be in sync with the universal chorus of praise. “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Ps. 103:1-2, also Ps. 104, 146). This one is for every occasion.”
It is my prayer that we will speak to ourselves according to the Word of God. It is this discussion, self-reflection, and thinking that will bear fruit in our lives for the glory of God. And as we grow in this we will realize more and more that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4b). Amen!