Talking to yourself is healthy

I recently received four new Piper books from the $5 sale at Desiring God Ministries. Of all of these books, the one that I started reading a couple of days ago is called "When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight for Joy".

Now, I'm not completely certain why I chose this one to read. I'm not particularly lacking in this gift right now: God has been staggeringly gracious in granting me the desire to seek after Him lately, and for that I am utterly grateful, for this has given me a glimpse of the joy that I was created to have in praising His name and being found in His glory. However, I have found it difficult lately to allow God to let that joy overcome other areas of my life which seem to be lacking joy. In other words: Chris ain't feelin' too hot right now.

Well, even though a loss of desire for God does not seem to be one of my current ails, I am beginning to see how this book will bless me. Here's a look at what I've been reading today (quoted from Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in his book Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cures, in reference to Psalm 42, especially verse 5):

Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them but they are talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man's treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. "Why art thou cast down, O my soul?" he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, "Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you."

It was a very encouraging moment when I read this. God has given us promises in His word, and we (read: I) need to speak these promises to our (read: my) own souls, otherwise our souls will continue to speak to us... and the Creator of our souls is certainly wiser than our souls themselves!

Brethren, please pray for me, that God would grant me the strength to do this. My joy has been robbed once again by the anxieties of this world, and after having tasted and seen that the LORD is good (Psalm 34:8), I long to be overcome again by the deluge of joy which was meant to flood my life, the joy that can only be found in taking refuge in the LORD.