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I have a tendency to talk to myself. Do you do that, too? Well, I was just noticing that the Psalmist did it a lot. As a matter of fact, I think all of us need to learn to talk to ourselves more.
As I read Psalm 42 and 43, I noticed how this phrase was often repeated: “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.” Evidently the writer was struggling with depression, with discouragement, with the blahs, just like you and I struggle from time to time. And he talked to himself as a way to speak the right words into his mind and turn around his wrong thinking.
In verse 6 of Psalm 42, we read, “My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you…” Now this is a very good technique and habit for all of us to learn. When we feel down, we should force ourselves to remember and recite out loud God’s goodness to us in times past.
Are you having a tough time? Then, stop right now and talk to yourself; find some place where you can say something like, “Look, what is your problem? God loves you and cares for you; he’s met your need time and again. Remember what he did for you in times past and put your hope in him again.”
I noticed in Psalm 42 and 43 that the writer also verbalized his doubts. “Why have you forgotten me. Why have you rejected me?” He voiced those doubts and questions to God, but immediately he came back to the truth of praising God and hoping in God.
When I find myself doubting and questioning God, I try to voice those to him out loud. “Lord, I feel as though you’re not there. I just can’t understand why this has happened. I can’t help but wonder if you’ve forgotten about me here. BUT I know better Lord. I remember what you’ve done in the past, and I know your ways are not my ways. THEREFORE, I trust you, I place my hope in you. You are my Savior and my God.”
So, talk to yourself. I believe it’s a Scriptural principle we need to incorporate into our lives to help us find victory in those everyday ups and downs of life.