Does Positive Self-Talk Work?

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation. Psalms 42:5

Everywhere you look there is a buzz about the power of positive self-talk. I remember a few decades ago when I began hearing that mumbo-jumbo. I thought, Seriously? These people are weak. Because we all know, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Only babies cry and complain if there isn’t blood or a bone sticking out.

What I didn’t realize was I was paying the price for that thinking. While I smiled on the outside, depression made my head a dark place to hang out. When the pain of staying the same became greater than the pain of changing, I reached out to my pastor. He shared Psalms 42:5 with me. “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation.”

Turns out positive-self talk isn’t a new thing. It goes all the way back to Bible times.

This Psalm, as well as about twenty-five others, were written by The Sons Korah. Do you have that distant family member that left a blot on your family name? Yeah, this is who Korah was. Back when the children of Israel left Egypt and were wandering in the wilderness, he started a rebellion with 250 other men. It didn’t end so well. An earthquake swallowed them all. But, God spared his sons, and hundreds of years later during the time of King David, we see his descendants writing beautiful Psalms of gratitude, humility, and awe of God.

In this verse, we see Earthquake Dude’s descendant’s talking to himself. He is choosing to shift his focus off his emotions and circumstances onto hope. Since my sticks and stones days, When I get into a funk, the pattern of this verse is my go-to. Emotions don’t always tell us the truth. But, God is truth, and I can hope in Him.