What are the first words you say to yourself when you wake up? Over the last few months, I have been purposefully saying to myself these words from a childhood Sunday School song (actually Psalm 118:24), "This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it." (NKJV).
It is a declaration to my soul. Me, telling myself that God is in control. He made this day (Psalm 118:24). He knows what is to come (Psalm 139:16). He will not leave me to do this day alone. (Deuteronomy 31:8).
Speaking faith
Essentially I am speaking faith into my day. Faith that no matter what happens, whether is it no drama (we don't actually have many of those days) or a little bit of drama, or some massive drama (we have had too many of those days!) - This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it!
I'm telling myself that I will choose to keep my eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2)...
Be thankful
... and I will keep looking for things to be thankful for. In fact, in The Passion Translation, Psalm 118, where the scripture, "This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it" comes from, is titled, "Glorious Thanksgiving". Its first few verses say,
"Keep on giving your thanks to God, for he is so good!
His constant, tender love lasts forever!
Let all his princely people sing,
His constant, tender love lasts forever!"
Psalm 118:1-2 The Passion Translation
Awake, my soul
As someone who often speaks to themselves, I always find it reassuring when I hear of someone else who speaks to themselves too. In Psalm 108 we hear King David speaking to his soul as he prays to God for help,
"My heart, O God, is quiet and confident, all because of you.
Now I can sing my song with passionate praises!
Awake, O my soul, with the music of his splendor.
Arise, my soul, and sing his praises!
I will awaken the dawn with my worship,
greeting the daybreak with my songs of light."
Psalm 108:1-2 The Passion Translation
Yes, here is King David at dawn, speaking to himself, telling his soul to sing praises to God. King David is speaking faith as he asks God for His help in the battle,
"Save us and help us with your right hand, that those who you love may be delivered."
Psalm 108:6 NIV
An aside ... You may have heard Hillsong's beautiful worship song, Awake My Soul, which has some lyrics based on Psalm 108.
Words Matter
We all know that the words we speak matter. We are often so careful with the words we speak to others. But for those of us who are often speaking to ourselves, we can easily forget to consider what we are saying to ourselves. Just as we need to take our thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5), we need to remember the truth of Proverbs 18:21,
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]." Proverbs 18:21 AMPC
This truth applies to the words we say to ourselves and others.
Joyce Meyer often speaks about the power of words and she says,
"We have heard the phrase, "You're going to have to eat your words," and Proverbs 18:21 confirms this truth. The words we speak have power to influence our lives. In fact, you may be eating your words right now, and that may be why you are not happy with your life. Your mouth may be getting you in trouble with yourself!" (The Everyday Life Bible, P993).
What words will you wake up with tomorrow?
So I'll leave you (and me) with a little challenge ... what words will we wake up with tomorrow? Will it be the 'Ugh, I wonder what's going to go wrong today,' with a generally unenthusiastic tone? Or will it be a statement of faith, such as "This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it," combined with a thankful attitude that His grace is sufficient for us today.
Looking for more encouragement?
Are you looking for more resources to help you draw closer to God, please check out my other blog posts and podcasts.
