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Self-Talk


Psalm 43:5 Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me? Put your
hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my

Savior and my God.

The Psalmist talks to himself in a moment of depression. “Why are you downcast, O my soul...why so disturbed..?” In other words, “…why am I feeling so low…my heart is not at peace!”
This is called self-talk.

The statement is repeated in 42:11 so the Psalmist must really have been feeling it. Ever felt this way? I certainly do from time to time. And unless you are one of those irrepressible sanguines, eternally optimistic, you certainly have come across the ‘black’ times.
 Sometimes it is related to some circumstance and sometimes there isn’t anything in particular that one can relate the feeling to.

However what is important in every instance of depressive self-talk is what you tell yourself next. The Psalmist immediately continues, “…put your hope in God...”

I dare say that is the most important favour one can do for themselves. When faced with depressing thoughts-put your hope in God!
Even if you don’t quite feel like it, tell your inner self, “...Put your hope in God...”
Say it audibly so that your natural and spiritual surroundings can hear it too. This is what the Psalmist did in his bleak moment.
There is, _greatly underestimated_ power, in the (spoken) word.

When we speak the word of God to ourselves during bleak times, we invite His power and comfort in our lives. We also chase the devil away or weaken his grip with such words. Sometimes he is the cause of bleak thoughts.
The key is to know and speak a positive word of God when we pass through these moments.

And like the Psalmist, every moment of self-talk should end in a determined declaration of praise.
 Find something to praise or thank God for. This is what is called _living by faith_ (Rom.1:17)

“..for I will yet praise him, my saviour and my God.”

Image credits; Ahmed Al-Shukaili

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