How Is Your Self Talk?

Friday, July 13, 5:34 am

Most of us remember the story of David and Jonathan. Jonathan was Saul’s son and he formed a close friendship with David. They made a covenant with each other and Jonathan saved David’s life in response to that covenant.

Later, when Jonathan was dead and David was king, he sought to find a way to honor his covenant with Jonathan. He questioned:

Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake? 2 Sam 9:1 (KJV)

David found Mephibosheth. You can read the story in 2 Samuel 9.

Now, Mephibosheth understood covenants. He lived in a time and culture when covenants were not uncommon. The Bible isn’t clear whether Mephibosheth was aware that David had a covenant with Jonathan. If he were aware of the covenant, he must have known that he could go to David’s door, knock, and say, “I am Jonathan’s son and I know that you made a covenant with him. I’m here in Jonathan’s name to claim my rights.”

But, he didn’t go.

David had to send for him, and when he did, Mephibosheth fell before him and said, “Behold I am your servant!” (I Sam 9:6)

Perhaps he was afraid because in that time, it was not unusual for a king to put to death any relatives of the former king to prevent them from attempting a coup in the future.

David then said,

“Don’t be afraid! I’ve asked you to come so that I can be kind to you because of my vow to your father, Jonathan. I will give you all the land that once belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you may live here with me at the palace.” 2 Sam 9:7 (NLT)

Now, isn’t Mephibosheth’s response interesting? In verse 8, he answers, “Should the king show such kindness to a dead dog like me?”

Think about that for a moment. Mephibosheth called himself a dead dog.

Did he use that phrase because he had believed his life in danger from David?
Did he use that phrase because he was handicapped? (The Bible tells us that he was injured as a child and we therefore lame. II Sam 4:4)
Did he use that phrase because he had lived most of his life hidden—most likely in poverty—in a town called Lo-debar?

If you think of this passage as a dialog between God and yourself, you can make application in your life. When God calls to you, do you stand before Him and say, “What could you possibly want with someone like me?” or do you say, “I’m here to claim my rights in Jesus’ name!”

Your response to God is a reflection of the way you truly feel about yourself. Have you ever stopped to listen to the things that you say to yourself all day?

I would encourage you to stop and listen.

“Well, that was a stupid thing to do!”
“What was I thinking?”
“I never do anything right!”
“I’m such an idiot!”

Is that what you hear, or do you hear kinder, gentler words?

“Well, that probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, LOL. “
“Maybe I should have done that differently.”
“Now I know what not to do next time.”

Once you take the time to listen to your self talk, you need to determine whether it’s acceptable. Would you talk that way to someone else? Would you say those things to your children?

What if your self talk is damaging? more like the first list?

Think about where those statements came from. Is that what you heard growing up? Are you in a relationship where verbal abuse is continuing to occur? It is difficult to overcome, but you can make it a priority and change that abusive self talk.

Sometimes, your self talk is just a bad habit you need to break. You have already done the work to change your self image, but you haven’t taken the time to examine your self talk and you need to make it a priority to become more aware of it. You cannot change what you do not acknowledge.

When you are striving to change that self talk, there is only one way to do it. You need to replace the bad with something good.

When you catch yourself saying, “I’m such and idiot!” stop and say to yourself, “OK. I’m not an idiot! Father, I forgive those who have told me that in the past and I refuse to believe them. I know that You love me and that You have given me a sound mind.” Say it out loud if you can (probably not when you’re in the grocery isle). Hearing it with your ears and not just in your head is important.

In your quiet time, seek God about which scriptures He would like for you to memorize for those moments.

Changing your self-talk is hard. It doesn’t happen overnight, but you can do it!

Today, pay close attention to your self-talk and see if it needs some attention.