Sunday, 17 July 2016

King David Series: Positive Self Conversation

Message  17 July 2016 King David Series # Uplifting Self Conversation

And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.  1 Samuel 30:6

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.  Psalm 28:7

We live in times when all that  it takes to destroy ourselves is in place. You may immediately think of  the nuclear weapon stockpiles. Not at all, character erosion and a moral void are the greatest threats of our times. Without sound character, moral perimeters, and positive values there is no campus and no hope. The world has raised a generation that does not know where moral boundaries are. We have made the cities and streets brighter and brighter while human hearts have become darker and darker. Laws, policies and institutions have embraced evil. The family unit has been destroyed. Marriage has been redefined to accommodate unnatural sexual whims. The very things that brought God's wrath on cities and nations in the Scriptures are common in our day. Further there are too many angry people with no sense of restraint. They allow their anger to boil over in violent ways to register or  settle offense - the poor rising up against the rich, the religious against those different and ethnic groups against each other.

Beginning with tribulations, Paul followed a logic that is very alerting about character (Romans 5:3, 4). He said tribulation works patience, patience builds character and character brings hope. And hope is not ashamed because of the love of God in our hearts. Clearly in his perspective the basis for hope is character. Character is the foundation and guarantee of hope. In our times the fabric of society has been torn to pieces. Ingredients for social health such as righteousness, justice, mercy, truth, trustworthiness, responsibility, love, and respect have been removed from the center and as a result the center can no longer hold.  (Galatians  5:19-20).

Respect for life denied at any stage of human development opens grounds for violations of life at any other stage. Millions are slaughtered before they see the light of day. Such disrespect of life and its dignity is everywhere to show the extend of moral debasement. People with weapons but with no character are a danger to themselves and others. People with power and no character will abuse the power to oppress the weak in pursuance of self-interest. Custodians of justice who have no character will be bribed. Heads of families without character will neglect or abandon their responsibility. Because of increasing numbers of such to many the future is unsure. Also, the times are characterized by overload of information, processes, stuff and chaff. Life can be tiring and has many struggles to be overcome.

In the midst of such adverse trends it's so easy to lose hope and be discouraged. Encouragement is on high demand. In the context, encouragement is as vital as blood and oxygen in a major emergency scene. When the thief comes to steal (John 10:10), he doesn't priorities taking your physical  assets such as your car or cell phone. He aims for the intangibles first. Using discouragement he steals your zeal, hope, joy, peace, and contentment. What the thief is after is what to guard most closely.

Discouragement hits hardest when one is alone in quietness, private, up from sleep at night and in thought. Moments when you reflect on your life and consider that you are neither going or coming and seem over loaded, and over stretched. Stress hits when the demands on you are more than your resources. When head winds overwhelmingly pity your capacity.  When disappointed by those you expected to be encouraging. When hope is delayed the heart becomes sick (Proverbs 13:6). Generally, encouragement is needed all the time. It is to the human soul as oxygen is to the human body. Receiving it is as vitally important as breathing. Every person thrives on it. In the face of a barrage of discouragement, where shall encouragement come from? Let’s look at three primary conversations that can be sources of encouragement.

Conversation with Others

Interactions with other people have both potential for hurt and discouragement as well as healing and encouragement. It is therefore every person's relational priority to make sure you determine who comes close to your life. Do they light your fire or extinguish it. Paul exhorted believers not to neglect meeting with each other (Hebrews 10:25). His one reason for meeting was to encourage one another. It is for one's benefit in view of end time challenging times any other reason. The one basic take home from meetings of believers should encouragement. If participants go away not encouraged or worse still, discouraged then the meeting has failed.

Additionally, positive interaction with other people brings exposure to examples of people going or who have gone through what you may be going through. This is one big way to find encouragement. Some models can also be known through reading and watching stories of other people.

Further, interacting with others also provides opportunity to encourage other people by your testimonies, words and actions. Be an encouragement to others. Encouraging others has a reverse effect to encourage you. It also solidifies convictions that you will apply when you face similar situations.


Positive Self Conversation

External encouragement is only effective when received by the recipients for use to encourage themselves. Self-encouragement is therefore at the heart of all encouragement. As in breathing, other people can facilitate but they  cannot breath for you. They can put you on a breathing machine  but if you do not respond they will disconnect you from the machine. They may do Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), a lifesaving technique useful in many emergencies, in which someone's breathing or heartbeat has stopped. Doing so may make the difference between life and death but success depends on positive  response from the one needing help.

Self-encouragement is desperately needed constantly and happens through  uplifting self-conversation. What do you say when you sit down with yourself? Do you speak something encouraging to yourself. Do you address yourself like Paul would say 'my soul rejoice/hope in the Lord'. What is said by anyone or anything from outside is only harmful when you embrace it and repeat it or endorse it to yourself.

Discouragement is overcome by focusing on positive outcomes that can be or are going to be. Not by understanding the process you are going through. Through a decision to see and hear differently to catch a view of hope to hear hope.  You can hear something from within saying as to a pilot 'keep your belt fastened and hold your position soon you  will be cleared for landing.' Encouragement that ends with you however will come short. In fact self-conversation on your own gives cause for people to fear for you. This being because self-conversation is also two edged in that you can build yourself or destroy yourself.  What will happen when you reach the end of yourself. When your heart is overwhelmed who will you cry to. What will you look to and hold to. There are times when all people are discouraging. Or they are trying but you have heard it before and it is not going deep enough. You feel like no one understands and you just want to shut out all voices. At that time your voice to yourself better be encouraging or else you will be suicidal. At that point many lose meaning of life and decide enough is enough it’s time to drive over a cliff. That is why will power is not enough you need real power as demonstrated by David in the next section.


Conversation with God

Conversation with God is self-conversation where God is the moderator and resource. When others have deserted you and in moments when you are alone you need something bigger than you to fall on. A rock higher than you (Psalm 61:2). David had one. In 1 Samuel  30:6 he and his men found Zikag where they lived destroyed and all children and women taken away captive. They wept until they had no strength to weep. Crying can be therapeutic but it was not enough. He looked to his comrades in arms and found no encouragement. Instead they wanted to stone him for what had happened. Everything he could hold on to was shaken but David had deeper reservoirs of strength. He encouraged himself in the Lord.

And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.  1 Samuel 30:6

David encouraged himself in the Lord. He put his trust in the Lord. You may not know everything about God but he has revealed enough to encourage you.  When David was overwhelmed he stopped listening to circumstances and tuned in to the circumstances.

You also can stop listening to past negative experience and the size of your bank balance. Self-conversation with God begins with meditation on God's word (Psalm 19:14; Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1: Proverbs 23:7). Whatever is abundant in the heart feeds or informs self conversation. The louder the voice of the word of God and of the Holy Spirit and the quieter the other voices become the stronger and clearer God's voice his will be. Shaking of other sources of hope is to remove that which has no foundation so that encouragement can be founded on the word of God.

The enemy comes to steal joy, peace, zeal, and contentment. Using discouragement he blind folds people to positive things and exaggerates the negative. He exaggerates the worst in you   relative to the best elsewhere leaving you despondent. The enemy as in most news bulletins blinds fold you from what should encourage you. As a result, when you look to the past you cannot see all the blessings of God and are more aware of the wrongs, failures, regrets and hurts you picked up over the years. As a result you get discouraged. With eyes open you would see God's amazing  faithfulness. When you look at the present you fail to see the many opportunities and all you see are the walls, giants and chasms that keep you away from God's blessings and progress. As a result you lose heart.  When you look into the future you do not see the strength that is available to tackle the challenges and obstacles on the way forward and higher. As a result you despair so badly that you resent life itself.

The sure source of encouragement is trust in God who made the heavens and the earth from nothing. He will give you a vision for the future and a revelation that you have strength in him to do what has to be done. He will give you as he did to David a principle or instruction to guide you.  You can rise from your ashes by fixing your eyes on Jesus and declare that fatigue, hopelessness, despair, self-pity, depression, doubt, and bitterness are not your portion. The peace of God will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus (1 Peter 5:7, Philippians 4:6). Jesus came to make your joy full. He came give you encouragement. He gave you his character to guarantee your hope. 


Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.
Faith Ministries – Johannesburg Faith Life Center.
First Floor Dhando House,
66 Eloff Street Extension,
Village Deep,
 Johannesburg,
South Africa 








Other Notes:

David and the Psalmists encouraged themselves by finding strength in God.

  • ·         Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power. Ps21:13
  • ·         I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.  ps 18:1-2
  • ·         But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.  Ps37:39
  • ·         It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. Ps18:32
  • ·         The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.  ps 118:14
  • ·         But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.  Ps 22:19
  • ·         Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.  Ps 31:4
  • ·         Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy. ps 59:17
  • ·         In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.  Ps 62:7
  • ·         Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:  ps 144:1
  • ·         Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ps 19:14
  • ·         The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! psalm 21:1
  • ·         The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.  Ps 28:7

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