I don’t know about you, but I confess to being easily shaken up. A critical email, a negative text, tension at work—it doesn’t take much, and I’m all shaken up. At times like these, many of us revert to unhelpful self-talk. Meaning, we bash ourselves.
I can read the thought bubble in your mind. You’re saying, “Yeah, I’m easily upset by people and problems that oppose me, but that’s just who I am.” Maybe. But that isn’t who you have to be.
David addresses this soul sickness when he invites us to better self-talk in Psalm 16:8. His personal testimony—his coping strategy—is this: “I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”
In Bible times, the expression, “at my right hand,” spoke of favor and importance. Note that Scripture often speaks of Jesus being at the right hand of God—again, the highest place of honor and significance.
Does your Outlook calendar and your daily routine place Christ at the highest place of honor and significance? Here are three keys that will help unlock a more biblical self-talk.
Key #1—You Choose to Set Him Before You
Setting the Lord before you doesn’t happen by default or accident. It’s a choice. David said, “I have set,” not “the Lord set.” No competent bricklayer just “happened” to build a straight wall. And no one ever “happened” to become a piano virtuoso the day of their first lesson. These things begin with a decision. We set our mind and heart on a goal—and then we follow through over time.
Key #2—You Make a Daily Decision
Setting the Lord before you is not a one-time thing. It’s a daily, moment-by-moment action. Note the word “continually.” Many of us pay a whole lot of money for subscription plans: internet, phone, meal prep, music and movie streams, cloud storage, and on it goes. We set up auto-pay for our bills, autofill for our prescriptions, and even auto-order pet supplies. But there’s no “auto plan” for setting the Lord continually before you. It’s something you do every day.
Key #3—You Invite His Presence to Be with You
Setting the Lord before you continually invites the Lord’s continual presence to be in your life. David says, “Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” I’m so glad David doesn’t say, “I’m pretty sure God will show up to protect me when I need Him most.” He reminds himself that God is—already (right now and today and tomorrow)—“at my right hand.”
Invite the Lord to help you call this verse to mind the moment that stress comes knocking. In fact, I encourage you to say Psalm 16:8 out loud the very next instant you feel tense. I promise you that trouble will loosen its grip even as you sense God tightening His grip on you. This habit, this lifestyle, is the self-talk we need!
“I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”
—Psalm 16:8
NOTE:
You’ve just read a tiny sliver of the hope you’ll encounter in the book, “Powerful Self-Talk from the Psalms.” For a free sample chapter, email me at Jon.gauger@moody.edu. “Send me the chapter!” It’s perfect for anyone who knows what it means to lie down…but not get to sleep!
