"Not in My House"
Series: Talking to Yourself
Let God's Word Interrupt Your Thoughts
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It’s never a good day when a 7-foot tall gangly-armed center ruins your team’s playoff chances by intercepting a potential buzzer-beater shot with an epic “not in my house” block. Rather than scoring that game-winning goal, a team is left dejected as their ball goes sailing into the stands. But not all blocks are heartbreaking.
Scientists call our ongoing, inner dialogue "self-referential thought." Since it's constant, these typically negative and anxious patterns become ingrained. We get stuck in a conversation we can't seem to escape! And that’s where God comes in to knock our thoughts into a new direction, replacing them with his own.
The Big Idea
The best thing that can happen to our inner dialogue is to bring God into the conversation. Because what we tell ourselves isn’t always reliable, but what God tells us can save our eternal lives.
Jesus tells a parable about a man talking to himself. The man saw his farm’s excellent yield and “thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’” (Luke 12:17). He had a talk with ... himself, and together they planned their retirement!
He wanted what he wanted, and when he spoke to himself, it was about his favorite subject: himself! If you’re bold enough to look under the hood and examine your self-talk, prepare to learn some hard truths about what you value. Eavesdropping on yourself is not for the faint of heart!
But sometimes the best thing that can happen to our inner dialogue is for God to send the conversation in the opposite direction. “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’“ (Luke 12:20).
God’s voice wants to break into your thoughts too, reminding you of a hard truth: you are mortal (James 4:14-16). So, whatever conversation you’re having with yourself right now, let the Lord interrupt your thoughts with his precious Word (Ps. 19:10, 14).
The Big Question
Are you clutching your treasures or investing your life in the lasting words of God?
