As we bring our series, Rest: Summer in the Psalms, to a close this weekend, I’m reminded of so many of the truths that came out of our study. Were I to rank them all, the one that stands out most prominent to me in my life is my need to talk to myself more than I listen to myself. I talk to myself all of the time. I’m constantly mulling around ideas, thinking about the day’s events, or just filled with a jukebox full of music in my head. But how often do you, like me, find yourself passively allowing content to fill your mind without actively sifting through the truth and the lies? If you wrote down every thought that came into your head on a given day, I bet you would be shocked at the amount of unhelpful, godless garbage that filters into your thought process. And many of us don’t know what to do about it. We sit in our thoughts completely defenseless and at the mercy of our unfiltered minds. But there’s a cure.

As I’ve mentioned many times, no one’s voice affects you more than yours because no one talks to you as much as you do. The key to this onslaught of internal chatter is to become a preacher. That’s right, a preacher. In fact, I want you all to become better preachers than I will ever be. In Psalm 42, the psalmist is not giving in to the hopelessness of his thoughts. He’s fighting to believe the truth. He’s probing the soul. He’s asking his soul why he feels so downcast and discouraged. He’s actively searching his heart to figure out where he’s placing his hope instead of in God. When the soul weights you down, it’s time to say, “Listen here self. This is what’s true…”

In light of this, I wanted to share some of my favorite verses I use when I preach to myself:

“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ”
(Rom 8:1)

“If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared”
(Ps 130:3-4)

“The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing”
(Zeph 3:17)

“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness”
(Lam 3:21-23)

“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit”
(Ps 34:18)

“No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised”
(Rom 4:20)

“The LORD is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”
(Phil 4:5-7)

“Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on Him as long as I live”
(Psalm 116:2)

“Not one word of the good promises that the Lord has made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass”
(Josh 21:45)

“And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed”
(Josh 23:14)

“God is not man that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it”
(Num 23:19)

“…so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it”
(Isa 55:11)

“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God”
(Acts 20:24)

“He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it”
(1 Thess 5:24)

“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and he will act”
(Ps 37:5)

“Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain”
(1 Cor 15:58)

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up”
(Gal 6:9)

“Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory”
(2 Tim 2:10)

“Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
(Gen 18:14)

“The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent”
(Ex 14:14)

“Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him”
(2 Sam 10:12)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding”
(Prov 3:5)

“He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord”
(Ps 112:7)

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamites. For when I am weak, then I am strong”
(2 Cor 12:9-10)

I want you to wield the word of God like a sword and surgically remove the godless opinions and voices that rear their ugly head in your mind and combat them with the truth. I hope this provides you some ammunition to load up in your mind, so that you’re ready to preach to your soul when the attacks come.