Talking to Oneself!

Talking to oneself is sometimes seen as a sign of senility - the sort of thing that people do when they are beginning lose control of their senses! Not so in the Bible. There are many places when it seems as though the Psalmist, for example, is talking to himself, but in reality he is a very long way from losing his senses. He is doing the most sensible thing he could possibly do!

Let me explain. God has given us a spirit, a soul and a body. It is with our spirit that we are most able to commune with God and with which we are most sensitive to him. All of us, however, have trouble with that soulish part of our being which always seems to want to go beyond or outside of God's best for our lives. Even the Apostle Paul was struggling with this when he said that he knew what was right, but often found himself wanting to do what was wrong! So it is with you and me. Our spirit and our soul seem to be at war with each other. The only way forward is for the spirit to take charge and tell the soul what to do.

That is exactly what David is doing in our reading. He is telling his whole inner being - everything that's within him - to praise the Lord. For he knows that when we are doing that we can't be going wrong. Then he says to his inner being - don't forget all the benefits that come from God. It's as if David's inner being must be objecting to doing what his spirit is saying, so the spirit has to remind the soul of all the blessings that have come from God through obedience to Him!

Let me encourage you to "do a David" and remind yourself of all the blessings God has brought into your life. What a wonderful way to ensure that your whole being keeps on track with God and continues to both love and serve Him all your days.

Prayer: Help me Lord to remind my inner being of your wonderful goodness, so that everything I am will want to both love and serve you. In Jesus name, Amen