Talking To Myself
In our adult class at church we are studying a different Psalm each week. After a bit of background and teaching about the content of the song for the day, we gather at tables to discuss observations, questions, and applications for us today. It always proves to be a rich time of dialogue and insight. Recently, we looked at Psalm 57 that relates a time just after David, who was being hounded and tracked by King Saul, hid in a cave in the Engedi.
In Psalm 57 David pleads with God for deliverance as he is "surrounded by lions" and in danger all the time. Interestingly, while he looks his desperate situation in the eye, David also praises God as his only true deliverer. With one eye on circumstances and another on his source of strength he talks to himself to remind his soul of the Reality behind his reality. Listen to this a few lines from the song:
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
Wake up, my soul!
Wake up, harp and lyre!
We all face times and we can shake as we stand before our "lions" that seem to surround us. All routes of escape can look blocked by adversity. It is at these times when self-talk about who we are and where our true strength lies can carry us through and forward. David challenges his heart and his actions to "Wake up!" Like a splash of cold water, he challenges his heart to quit shaking and get his eyes on his true source of strength, and it seems to have worked, as the next lines reflect a different attitude:
I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens, your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
With a clear view onto his challenge and a clean eye to his God, David chooses to trust and go. The situation is still serious, but his self-challenge moves his heart to more of a place of calm resolve. He stands now better equipped to face his foe. This is "in the middle of the mess" confidence. David doesn't sweat and stress and wait to look to God in praise, he chooses to sing in his darkness, to praise in his silent times.
The lessons for us in this song are many, but one that resonates with me is the dual-living Jesus followers employ. As we read the history of the new covenant believers in the book of Acts, and understand the settings behind the letters written to young churches we see an attitude of realism in the face of much danger and opposition coupled to and powered by a God they knew and totally trusted in. These folks, and we, call themselves "aliens and strangers" to this world. Their/our land is ahead and beyond and so our hope need not be bound up in the pursuit of personal peace and prosperity.
But in times of stress our souls chatter away at us, like so many squirrels in a tree, telling and retelling dark tales of what might happen, when setting our eyes on the true source of strength for every day will lead us into and through any challenge. Here is where I do well to talk to myself. These times are when rehearsing who God is and what he has promised will help you stand your ground before your lions.
When he says that he will never leave me or forsake me, I am never alone in stressful times.
When he says I am not an orphan, I have a family to count on and a Father to run to.
When he says I am his friend, I have a shoulder to lean on and someone to tell my all to.
When he says he has prepared a place for me, I can face today because I have a tomorrow.
So, with David, I say, "Awake, my soul!" Wake up!! Rise up in praise because we follow a Savior who has conquered this world and who calls us to come along on his adventure, right here, right now. Wake up!
Talking to myself like this ushers in health and strength to my heart enough to face this day.
Tomorrow, I'll need to do it all again since the lions still roar.
Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. -Phillips Brooks
...and some music to pass the time
How about a funny for the road...
One friend complains to another, “All my husband and I do any more is fight. I’ve been so upset, I’ve lost 20 pounds.”
“If it’s that bad, why don’t you just leave him?” asks the other friend.
“I’d like to lose another 15 pounds first.”