Leviticus 13:1-59, Mark 6:1-29, Psalm 39:1-13, Proverbs 10:10
Pray: Begin today by reading aloud David’s plea: “Hear my prayer, O Lord! Listen to my cries for help! Don’t ignore my tears. For I am your guest – a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me” (Psalm 39:12 NLT).
Read: How often have you had conversations with yourself secretly? How often does your mind have to give your emotions a pep talk? If you’re like David, sometimes your emotions win as you just get hotter with anger making it harder to keep it all in. The Psalms are great as they give us incredible wisdom and teach us how to pray. But it’s even better to help us realize that we’re not alone and we’re not crazy with our inner thought life! David talks to himself too!
Edify: The brevity of life is the beginning of wisdom for day to day living. As David is fuming inwardly over his current situation, he shifts from self-talk to God-talk. “Lord,” he says, “remind me how brief my time on earth is” in Psalm 39:4. Our “days are numbered,” “fleeting,” “a moment,” “like a breath,” and “like moving shadows.” When our self-talk transitions to prayer, we end up with an eternal perspective to our daily circumstances. If we place our hope in our circumstances, then our hope is as temporary as they are. But if we place our hope in God, He can provide peace, joy, and love that surpasses any circumstance we’re faced with.
Practice: What situation, relationship, circumstance, or uncertainty gets you caught up in the abyss of negative self-talk? What is it that gets you running hot inwardly so much that your words come out like fire? Let today be a day where you snatch those thoughts and take them captive. Take every opportunity to practice turning negative self-talk into God-talk. Turn the conversation of the heart upward in prayer.
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