Don’t Stop Talking to Yourself

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “You made it! Now what?”

Our Bible verse for today: ““Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable – if there is any praise – dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Don’t stop talking to yourself”

Thank you for your patience over these last ten days while I have been on a mission trip to Moldova. And thank you for your faithful prayers for our team. It was a very successful mission trip. If you would like to hear about it, I will be preaching about the trip and showing some pictures next Sunday at Oak Hill Baptist Church. Join us in-person or online at www.youtube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville.

This month we are still thankfully rejoicing that we made it to 2026, and we are considering the question, now that we have made it, what are we going to do with it? As I taught in my New Years sermon (available on our YouTube channel), time is a gift from God, and we only have so much of it. We must be good stewards of the time He has granted us, and we must be intentional about using it well. The devotionals this month consist of suggestions about how we can make the most of the time and opportunities the Lord will give us this year, and today I want to discuss the very important subject of self-talk and the impact it has on how we think and act.

Do you talk to yourself? Of course you do. We all do. Some of the best conversations I have are the ones I have with myself. So, the question isn’t if you talk to yourself, but rather what do you talk to yourself about? In our minds we often have a tape playing of thoughts and ideas – many of which play over-and-over again in your head. They end up penetrating deeply into your subconscious mind thereby becoming key factors in determining who you are and what kind of personality you have. A negative soundtrack will produce negative results, and a positive one will produce positive results.

Self-talk is one of the most important determining factors regarding our sense of self-worth. It also goes a long way in determining what your attitude about life in general will be. That being the case, self-talk can help us or it can hurt us; it can build us up and help us to be happy and successful, or it can tear us down, keeping us depressed and discouraged.

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received in this regard was “Talk to yourself like a coach.” What does that mean? Consider the relationship between an athlete in training and his or her coach. The coach is constantly talking to the athlete – guiding, correcting, encouraging, exhorting, but always in a way that’s designed to help the athlete to keep getting better. We need to talk to ourselves like that. We need to make the voice in our head the coach we need who will help us stay positive and uplifted, moving in the right direction. We do that by following Paul’s advice in Philippians 4:8. We fill our mind with good, positive, uplifting, and encouraging thoughts and then we play that tape over-and-over again.

How we talk to ourselves is simply a matter of habit. And like any other habit, a bad one can be stopped, and a good one can be learned. It just takes time, effort, and disciplined practice. That’s true whether you’re training yourself to run a marathon, bench press 300 pounds, chew with your mouth closed, or stop leaving the toilet seat up. Through effort and practice you can change. Bad habits can be broken, and they can be replaced by new good habits – and that includes how we talk to ourselves.

So, don’t stop talking to yourself, just change what you’re saying.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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