Self-Talk 3

Why do we care about what we say to ourselves? you may be asking. Isn't this just a bit too introspective? I don't want to focus so much on myself and my thoughts. We care because what we are saying may be lies. Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living. Really? Well, what does God say? In Lamentations 3, we read:
Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord!
Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:
We have transgressed and rebelled . . . "
And Paul challenges us to test ourselves to see whether we are "in the faith". (2 Corinthians 13:5) Do we walk in faith, or in the lies we love to recite to ourselves?--- lies like "God doesn't really care about me, or He would . . . " or "If I just pray more, God will . . . " or "Obviously God is blessing her life more because she is so much better than me at . . . " The lies really go on and on, and are unique to each of us.

And if we believe Satan's lies to Eve that God is lying, keeping things from us, and impotent to fulfill His promises to us, then we will respond with power, self-protection, self-promotion and positioning ourselves to best advantage. If we don't take care of ourselves, who will? Surely God can't be trusted.

Now I know none of you would actually say those words, but how much of what we tell ourselves daily demonstrates that we don't trust Him? Examine yourself, to see whether you are in the faith, if you are believing what God has said about you and to you, if you believe that Christ's death changes everything. As Elyse Fitzpatrick says:
We won't value or cherish Him as we should until we openly and freely embrace our
wretchedness and our utter inability to reform ourselves. Only then will we fall freely into
His arms of grace and there joyfully exalt the salvation He has purchased with His blood.

Let's begin there. More tomorrow.

Jean