Encourage Yourself

Have you talked to yourself before? You may be thinking who does that and if they do, will they admit it. Well, before you answer, let's think about this scenario for just a minute. You have lost or misplaced something and you are trying to find it. You look everywhere. You start thinking about all the places you were at last and begin to retrace your steps. While you are looking, you might just start talking aloud to yourself! You might start saying things, such as "Now I know I left it here" or "Let's see, the last place I saw it was..." Sounds familiar?! Have you done this before? I know I have! So, yes, I have talked to myself before and you probably have too. Today, I want to encourage you to talk to yourself in your every day life. When times get tough or challenging, we don't always have people around us to encourage us. It's in moments like these that we need to encourage ourselves that everything is going to be alright.  Many times I've heard myself and others around me say, "I can't do that", "It's too hard", or "I'll never be that." Words are very powerful, so we have to be careful what we say when we talk to ourselves. We should talk to ourselves in an encouraging way. We need to speak hope and confidence, even when our situation doesn't look hopeful. In the Bible, David was feeling anxious and distressed because his life was being threatened by people. However, David knew the power of his words! In I Samuel 30:6, it says, "David encouraged himself in the Lord his God." Just like David encouraged himself, we too can encourage ourselves. What better way to encourage ourselves than with the Word of God! Here, I want to discuss several Scriptures we can use to encourage ourselves with and speak aloud throughout our day.

Psalm 118:24- We need to remind ourselves that God made the day we're living in. When we start thinking about all that's going wrong in our day, let's change our focus and look at what's going right. Let's start with the fact that we are alive and how it could be worse than what it is right now. Thank God for who He is and what you already have.

I John 1:9- We all make mistakes and do wrong. We can tell God our wrong and ask Him to forgive us. We have to make a decision to change for the better. God is faithful to forgive us and will not hold our wrong against us. We don't have to keep replaying and thinking about past mistakes in our mind. We can remind ourselves to move ahead in the new.

II Timothy 1:7- Things can get scary at times. It happens in situations in our lives and the world around us. We can remind ourselves that God stands with us and we are not by ourselves. We don't have to be fearful. He will give us the power, love and sound mind we need to give that speech, speak to someone we don't know, handle a hard situation, meet someone for the first time, say we're a Christian and go to church, and stand up for what's right. We are not alone.

I Peter 5:7- We need to remind ourselves that God cares. He cares about each of us and wants us to tell Him everything going on in our lives. He hears us! We're not meant to carry the burdens. He wants it all. We can't share with everybody what's going on in our lives, but we can always share with God. So glad! He cares about all of us the same. We're all God's favorites as he loves us all the same!

John 16:33- We can remind ourselves of God's peace when life gets tough. Health issues, loss of loved ones, relationship issues, a hard class in school or college, and financial concerns come. All we have to do is ask for God's peace and He will give it to us when going through the tough times. While we're in the wait, we can have peace because we know what we're believing for is on the way. We can hold our head up high in the midst of all. He will give us a calmness that will let us know we will be alright and our situation will be alright.

Philippians 4:13-  One of my favorite verses! This verse reminds us of what we can do through Christ. We can pass the test, go to college, walk through that hard time and go day to day giving it our best. He will strengthen us when it's not easy. With our own strength, we can't do it. However, with His strength, we can!

Philippians 3:13-14- No matter what's going on behind us or what we did in our past, we can move forward. We can remind ourselves that the past no longer has to control us. We can walk in the freedom of the new. We need to remember the lessons from the past, but don't relive the moments. We can remind ourselves to press forward each day. What's ahead of us is far better that what's behind us!

I pray that you will take time to read these verses and speak them aloud every chance you get. Let the verses become a part of your daily life. Let's take time to memorize these verses, so we can speak them to ourselves everywhere we go. So, it's okay. We can talk to ourselves! Let's tell ourselves the truths of God's Word!

For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11