Preaching to Myself

I've been longing for something deeper lately.  I'm ready to go to a new level with God.  I want to draw a little bit closer...know him a little more...understand him a little better, and be a little more like him.  I've been struggling to find resources, aside from the Bible itself, to help me in my quest, and haven't been sure what direction to take all this longing.  There have been many roadblocks too...busyness, self-doubt, the same old sins rearing their ugly heads.
So, I was thrilled today when I was reading Matt Hammitt's blog and he referred his readers to a blog by John Knight called "The Works of God."  He said, "it is not lightweight material, and it will engage your heart and mind on the difficult issues of sickness, disability and suffering from a Biblical worldview." I was intrigued after I read "it is not lightweight material."
(Matt Hammitt is the singer for Sanctus Real.  His son was born 3 months ago with a heart condition, and he has been blogging about the experience at http://bowensheart.com)


So, I decided to check out John Knight's blog.  At first it didn't really seem to apply, since the blog is mostly about living with and caring for people with disabilities.  While I can certainly empathize, thankfully, that is not something I have personally had to deal with.  But, thrown into the mix were some challenging nuggets of truth.  I really encourage everyone to read his post about real joy.  It is relevant to our culture and thought provoking.  But, what's been churning around in my head is this quote (by Mary Horning) that I read in one of his posts: "Depression often occurs because we listen to ourselves instead of talk to ourselves.  We need to turn off the thoughts of anxiety, fear, & doubt and start preaching God's truth to ourselves."

Wow, I love that...it was just what I needed today.  I've been exploring the idea lately of the power behind speaking and praying God's word.  And this further confirmed for me that it is powerful and it is something I need to be doing more often.  See, my biggest struggles are in my own head.  I beat myself down A LOT.  I've come to realize of late that it's self-centered to think about myself so much...even if what I think is mostly negative.  So, I've been struggling to "take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).  When that cloud of depression and negativity tries to push its way in, I need to fight it off with God's truth.  I saw someone (on a blog, I think, wish I remembered who) refer to it as "packing heat."  God's truth is our weapon.  Even Jesus, confronted all of Satan's temptations with scripture.
So, today, I'd like to share with you (and remind myself) some of my favorite truths that I turn to when I'm struggling...I'd love to hear any that are meaningful to you also.

I am still confident of this:  I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.  Psalm 27:13 and 14


"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  2 Corinthians 12:9


"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."  Zephaniah 3:17


If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.  The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.  Isaiah 58:  10 & 11


Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.  Isaiah 54:10


So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  Isaiah 41:10


The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Isaiah 40: 28-29


The Lord is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?  Psalm 27:1  (one of my favorite Psalms, but I'll refrain from writing the whole thing!)


Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Galatians 6:9


and finally,

Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."  Phillippians 4:4-8


I could go on and on...there's so much good truth there...and I feel renewed already.  I will be praying these verses over myself and my family this week.  I think I'll be searching for more of these scriptures as they relate to more specific struggles...anxiety, self-doubt, fear, etc. and posting them here on a semi-regular basis.  If you have any that are particularly helpful to you, I'd love to hear them...you can leave them in a comment or email me.