Self-Interrogation: Think Bible
Keeping our thoughts in the right place - surrendered to God and the Truth of His Word - can be difficult, especially when we are going through an affliction or trial. Last week, we looked at how David kept his thoughts under control. If you’ll remember, Psalm 42 showed us how he interrogated and preached truth to himself when he was tempted to be discouraged, depressed, and despairing.
Interestingly—read, “Providentially”—in my devotions this week, I came across a list of questions to ask oneself when tempted to feel anxious or untrusting of the Lord and His plans. I want to share some of them here with Scriptural answers. Perhaps these will help you focus, or re-focus, on God, His sovereignty, His power, His goodness, and His love—no matter how that may be displayed in your life currently.
All of these questions come from Pam Forster’s Mama’s Refilldevotion, “Anxiety.” The answers all come from God’s Word. I know this is a lot of Scripture. It may be helpful to read just one or two sections per day. Write out on a note card the verse that speaks to your heart. Rehearse it throughout the day. Spend a weekend memorizing it. Write it into your journal. Post it on your refrigerator. Let God’s Word do its convicting, healing, comforting, and encouraging work in you.
1. Do I believe that my Father knows what is best for me?
“The LORD is in His holy temple, the LORD’s throne is in heaven: His eyes behold, His eyelids try, the children of men. The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence His soul hateth.” (Psalm 11:4-5)
“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” (Hebrews 4:13)
“Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.” (Matthew 6:8)
2. Do I believe that He wants what is best for me?
“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.” (II Chronicles 16:9)
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you.” (Jeremiah 29:11-12)
“According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (II Peter 1:3-4)
3. Do I believe He is able to give what is best for me?
“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.” (Daniel 3:17)
“And when [Darius] came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou serveth continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? Then said Daniel unto the king…My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me…” (Daniel 6:20-22)
“Is any thing too hard for the LORD?” (Genesis 18:14a)
“Ah Lord GOD! Behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee:” (Jeremiah 32:17)
“For with God nothing shall be impossible.” (Luke 1:37)
“Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” (Jude 24-25)
4. What does my anxiety reveal about what is going on in my heart?
“Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:” (Proverbs 23:7a)
“I will praise Thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all Thy marvellous works.” (Psalm 9:1)
“I have set the LORD always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; my flesh also shall rest in hope.” (Psalm 16:8-9)
“I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8)
“Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” (Psalm 61:1-2)
5. Am I making someone or something more important than God? (Is there an idol in my heart?)
“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3)
“Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee.” (Psalm 73:25)
“Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” (Isaiah 46:9)
“And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” (I John 5:20-21)
6. Am I trying to control something that only God can control? Do I want to know something that only God can know?
“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knoweth? Or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundation thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner stone thereof: When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:1-7, God’s questions to Job continue from Job 38-41.)
“Then Job answered the LORD, and said, I know that Thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from Thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not…Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:1-3, 6)
7. Am I leaning on my own understanding instead of looking to God for direction?
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.” (Proverbs 3:5-8)
“Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:3-5)
8. What is my worry accomplishing?
“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” (Matthew 6:25-30)
9. What might God be seeking to accomplish in my heart through my difficulties?
“Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons.” (Deuteronomy 4:9)
“But Job answered and said, Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together! For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up. For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me…Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.” (Job 6:1-5, 24)
“What man is he that feareth the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way that He shall choose.” (Psalm 25:12)
“Who knoweth the power of Thine anger? Even according to Thy fear, so is Thy wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” (Psalm 90:11-12)
10. Did God include this in His plan for me?
“Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139:16, ESV)
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee…” (Jeremiah 1:5a)
“Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:6-7)
11. Will God help me through this trial?
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
“After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” (Genesis 15:1)
“There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, Who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in His excellency on the sky.” (Deuteronomy 33:26)
“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.” (Psalm 18:1-2)
“Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice.” (Psalm 63:7)
12. Can God be trusted to faithfully keep His promises?
“God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19)
“Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began…” (Titus 1:1-2)
“Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us; Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast….” (Hebrews 6:17-19a)
13. Am I praying about this issue?
“Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” (Luke 21:36)
“Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;” (Romans 12:12)
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” (Ephesians 6:18)
“Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;” (Colossians 4:2)
“But the end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” (I Peter 4:7)
14. Am I taking in the truth of God’s Word, meditating on it, and obeying it?
“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” (II Timothy 3:14-17)
“And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the Scriptures, neither the power of God?” (Mark 12:24)
“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)
“For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
“We have also a more sure Word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy cam not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (II Peter 1:19-21)
15. Am I preaching God’s truth to myself?
“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.” (I Samuel 30:6)
“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember Thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.” (Psalm 42:5-6)
“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him:” (Job 13:15a)
“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy I the God of my salvation.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18)
I don’t know about you, but just reading through this Scripture puts my mind at ease and gives me a whole new perspective on the struggles and trials that are in my life. Let’s saturate our hearts with God’s Word, believe His promises, and rest in Him for tomorrow.