Have you ever had days where you find yourself speaking negatively to yourself?
You missed an appointment. Laundry piles turn into heaping mountains. Tensions erupt between you and a loved one. Sometimes the pressures of life can feel so overwhelming that we reach a boiling point.
Just the other morning, I was having “one of those days” where it seemed that I was met with obstacles at every turn.
Exasperated in the moment, I spoke to myself. Not in a voice anyone could hear, but in my heart, these words tumbled into my mind:
“You just can’t do anything right!”
Have you ever had one of those conversations with yourself? Of course we know better, but all too often in our minds we condemn ourselves, put ourselves down, and wag the shaming finger of self-depreciation.
Later that day, God reminded me of the passage in Mark 4:35-41 where Jesus calmed the storm.
In the King James version, Jesus uttered three simple words:
“Peace, be still.”
When Jesus spoke to the sea, he rebuked the wind and spoke the waves–and they obeyed. All of creation must submit to the power and authority of our Savior!
If Jesus can speak peace to our souls, then we must also establish a habit of speaking life to ourselves, no matter how dark and dreary our circumstances may seem at times.
Instead of speaking negativity to our hearts through negative thoughts and destructive self-talk, we must speak to ourselves with the life-giving words of God.
Here are five “soul-talks” we need to speak to ourselves on a daily basis.
5 Ways to Speak Life to your Soul
1. Bless the Lord, O my soul…
The Psalms are not only filled with beautiful prayers and conversations with God, but there are times when the author of certain psalms speaks to himself. Psalm 103:1-2 is one of these.
The psalmist (David, in this case) is actually telling his soul to praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits…
In the times when life seems to spiral out of control, we must tell ourselves to praise the Lord. We serve a mighty God who is worthy of our adoration and praise!
We must tell ourselves to not forget all of the blessings and benefits he has bestowed on us. Praise the Lord!
2. Find rest in God, O my soul…
Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Psalm 62:5
The word rest in this passage means to be quiet and still (source). Like the troubled waters that were stirred the day Jesus calmed the raging sea of Galilee, we must speak life to our hearts and allow Jesus to quiet our anxious and weary souls.
3. Seek his face!
Nestled between the chapter of Psalm 27, David is once again not only speaking to God, to himself:
My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. Psalm 27:8
Talk about a serious self-pep talk! Sometimes we have to tell ourselves: “Come on (insert your name), you can do this–seek the Lord!” During those tough moments when we want to give up, we must speak to ourselves:
Seek His face.
When we are exhausted and feel we can’t utter a single word in prayer,
Seek His face.
When life throws us a detour we were not expecting,
Seek His face.
We must remind our hearts, no matter how difficult life becomes or how thunderous the waves may crash around us, to seek the face of the One who holds all power in his hands.
4. Put your hope in God…
Have you ever found yourself in a sullen, melancholy mood, not quite knowing why you feel the way you do? As women we are sometimes flooded with emotions that we may not always understand.
Apparently, the writer of Psalm 42 could identify with us!
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:5
Despite how the psalmist was feeling, he told himself to praise God in the midst of his sorrow. Likewise, we must identify the root of our emotions and see if how we are feeling lines up with the truth of God’s Word.
Whatever your circumstances are in the season you are currently in, speak the hope of Christ into your life.
He is our strength, and the very anchor of our souls!
5. Be at rest once more, O my soul…
Once again, we must tell ourselves to be at rest. It is definitely an on-going conversation. I know that for me I need daily reminders to find my rest, hope and trust in God.
Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. Psalm 116:7
Because the Lord has been good, our souls can be at rest once more. Tomorrow we may need another reminder, and God’s promises will meet us there. Since our God will never leave us forsaken, we can take refuge in the shelter of His mighty arms–and rest.
The sea billows will roll, and the oceans will surge, but our God is bigger than the waves. Because he is our ever-present help in trouble, I have learned to say to myself,
it is well with my soul.
This post was inspired by the book Me, Myself, and Lies by Jennifer Rothschild.
In her book she challenges women to stop the flood of negative self-talk, and provides soul-talk strategies from God’s Word on how to live and walk in true victory in Christ!
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Christin, this is such a needed topic. Our soul often wants to be in charge and needs to be reminded of its rightful place. I’ve found that speaking these truths aloud makes a huge difference, too. Love your blog!
You are so right, Trish! The truth of God’s Word must ring louder than the negative thoughts we speak to ourselves. Praise God that we can renew our minds and thoughts through Him! 🙂
Thank you for this. I love it. I love that you went to rest twice! I had never thought of coming back around to that focus at the end. And starting with praise – that’s so powerful. I found this in my own prayer life once I realized that it was missing. When we start with praise we focus on His character and that makes all the difference in the world. I really like the steps you gave us here and plan to share! Thanks, Christin!
Thanks so much, Leslie! Yes, starting with praise makes SUCH a difference! That is also something I try to incorporate in my prayers. Focusing on the power and might of our God definitely diminishes the mountains in our lives! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Such a beautiful post. I often find myself to be at peace and rest in God not in my own strength. Thank you for sharing this post. Pinned to share with our Living Our Priorities community. Stopping by from Grace and Truth link up.
Thank you Timberley for your encouraging words! 🙂
Loved this post, and I’m sharing it on Pinterest and Twitter. Blessings to you!
Thanks so much Sarah! 🙂
What a wonderful approach to those pesky negative thoughts that plague us. Fully relying on God to give us peace and take care of everything. Love this ?
Praise God for His peace that surpasses our understanding! 🙂
Wonderful verses.
Thank you Rebecca! I appreciate you stopping by! 🙂
Yes! Love this! We talk so much about speaking life to others and the power of words, but we often forget the negative way we talk to ourselves. Thanks for this wonderful reminder!
Thank you for visiting, Karen! I definitely need these reminders on a daily basis!
We definitely need to talk to ourselves more based on God’s truth, don’t we? Instead of listening to any condemning voice inside our own heads! Thanks for this list.
Thanks for visiting, Donna! Praise God that there is no condemnation through Christ! 🙂
Life and death is still in the power of the tongue . Thanks for this reminder, Christin. Blessings to you.
So true! I am so glad that we can speak LIFE through the power of God’s Word! 🙂 Thank you for visiting!
I’ve always loved the idea of seeking God’s face.
Great tips!
Thanks Sarah! 🙂
Hi Christin
Such a wonderful post. A much needed post in today’s world where negativity seems to be the norm. People getting tired and exhausted, mental breakdowns here and there, depression rate increasing; we need something or someone to draw positivity from. People often forget but He is always there for us. Cheers!
Thanks so much Erika! 🙂