Talking To Yourself

Psalms 103: 1 – 5, 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: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. NKJV

There are some days that you just have to talk to yourself. Pardon the pun, but the soul has a mind of its own, and it tries to tell us how we’re going to act or respond to life based on our feelings. Unfortunately, we’re living in a day and hour when people are listening to and obeying their minds and emotions instead of taking control over their souls. When anyone, especially believers, falls prey to allowing their thoughts, emotions, and circumstances to dictate their attitude, it opens the door for the enemy to pull them down on his level. Let me explain.

We have to understand that our soul is weak at best. Therefore, we must look outside of it to draw the strength that is needed to live victoriously. The type of strength that I am speaking about can only be gotten from reading, meditating, and quoting the Word of God.  

Even though we may wake up with certain thoughts going through our heads in anticipation of the day that lies ahead, it doesn’t mean we have to take ownership of those thoughts. We’re told in Matthew 13 that while men slept on the enemy came in and planted weeds among the good seed. Consequently, when you and I wake up with wrong thoughts or a bad attitude toward the day, we might have to do some “weeding” before moving on.    

The principle that I’m sharing with you today comes directly from the Word of God. The psalmist is recorded in God’s Word as he speaks to his soul and instructs it to bless the Lord first. He knew where his strength came from. Likewise, as we lift up the name of the Lord, His presence begins to lift our soul. God’s presence will give us a different perspective than the one our soul would want us to live under.  

Even as he told his soul to bless the Lord, he went on to tell it to remember all the benefits that God already gave to him. We, too, have to remove bad thoughts from our minds and begin to replace them with praise and memorization of God’s promises and blessings. Lest you become weary of the chore of having to clean your mind’s garden continually, let me say that God’s Word, once it has been planted, will begin to grow and will spread throughout your entire being. Nevertheless, we must begin somewhere, and the scripture that comes from Psalms 103 is a very good place to start.

Renewing My Mind Daily,
Pastor Asa Dockery