The Art of Talking to Yourself, But Redeemed
As one author writes in The Art of Talking to Yourself:
“You have never been flawed. You have never been broken. Rather, you have misunderstood yourself.”
The idea behind this kind of thinking is usually that we should stop speaking negatively about ourselves, encourage ourselves, and learn to trust ourselves more. We tell ourselves that we can become better, that we can improve, and that we should believe in ourselves.
But does this kind of thinking align with Christianity?
What does Scripture say about talking to ourselves?
Interestingly, talking to yourself is biblical.
The Psalms give us several examples. In Psalm 42, the psalmist speaks directly to his own soul:
“Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.”
Psalm 42:5, ESV
The psalmist spoke to his soul. He confronted his discouragement and calls himself to hope in God.
We see this again in Psalm 103:
“Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!”
Psalm 103:1, ESV
So, it is not wrong to talk to yourself. In fact, it is necessary.
But there is a significant difference between biblical self-talk and the kind of self-talk often promoted by secular thought.
The Christian does not delude himself by pretending that he is better than he really is.
We do not hide behind a thousand masks and convince ourselves that everything within us is fine. We acknowledge our weakness. We acknowledge our dependence on Him. We acknowledge that apart from Christ, we can do nothing.
Everything we have and everything we are, are only because of His sheer grace and mercy.
We speak to our souls by turning them back to God.
We remind ourselves of His beauty, His power, His goodness, His faithfulness, and His love toward His own people. We remind ourselves of the beauty of the gospel.
Why is this necessary?
Because we are forgetful.
The heart of man is so forgetful. We are so forgetful.
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Every Lord’s Day is like a cold bath to me. Throughout the week, I am so easily swayed by whatever is happening around me, and I forget so quickly.
Even at times during trials, when it finally hits me, I want to slap myself in the face (don’t do it tho) and say, “Why are you so anxious?”
I’m blessed, though, to have a friend (soon to be wife jk) who always pushes me to come back to my senses.
And perhaps that’s why we need to talk to ourselves, to remind our forgetful hearts of what is true.
We become anxious. We become discouraged. We doubt.
We forget His power. We forget His faithfulness. We forget that He is both able and willing to provide for His people.
We forget that:
“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
Romans 8:32, ESV
Perhaps this is a lost biblical art:
the Christian talking to his own soul.
We should exhort our hearts. We should call ourselves back to our senses.
But this cannot be done apart from Scripture, because it is through His Word that we know His promises and are reminded of who He is.
God has also given us means of grace through which He continually reminds us: the Lord’s Day, the Lord’s Supper and Baptism, prayer, and the continual feeding upon His Word.
Even the hymn Come, Bless the Lord captures this posture:
Come, bless the Lord, wondrous in might
Steadfast in love, upholder of right
He is our Savior, He is our delight
Come, bless the Lord, my soul
Notice his plea.
The soul is being called to look outside of itself and behold the Lord. To look upon his Savior and reminds himself that Christ is his delight.
So, talk to yourself.
Exhort your heart. Speak to your soul.
Don’t tell yourself that you are enough, that you can do everything, or that you are better than you think. Because the reality is, we’re not.
Instead, remind your soul of who God is.
Call your heart back to His goodness, His faithfulness, His power, His promises, and ultimately to Christ.
Talk to yourself.
But let your self-talk be for Christ’s glory.
