
09/05/2025
Talking Back to Your Inner Critic
For she said, ‘If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.’”
Mark 5:28 (ESV)
There’s a voice that loves to sit in the front row of our minds—the inner critic.
It replays our worst moments, keeps score of our failures, and whispers that we don’t deserve to be loved or used by God.
But in Mark 5, the woman with the issue of blood teaches us a different way to speak to ourselves.
She talked to her own heart:
“If I only touch His garment, I will be made well.”
She didn’t deny her pain; she directed it toward Jesus.
Her self-talk wasn’t toxic positivity—it was faith that reached.
When shame says, “You’re broken beyond repair,” faith answers, “In Christ, I am being made whole.”
When regret says, “You should’ve known better,” grace answers, “I’m forgiven and I’m learning.”
When fear says, “This will always be who you are,” truth answers, “I am a new creation.”
Sometimes the hardest battle is not with people around us but with the words within us.
If God loves you and forgives you, who are you to withhold love and forgiveness from yourself?
His standard isn’t your perfection—it’s Christ’s finished work.
Today, talk back to your inner critic with the Word of God.
Reach out—by prayer, by Scripture, by one small act of obedience—and touch the hem of His garment.
Wholeness begins where His name is spoken over your story.
Speak This Out Loud:
In Jesus’ name, I release what I’ve done and what was done to me.
I receive Your love.
I forgive others, and with Your help, I forgive myself.
I am loved.
I am seen.
I am being made whole.”
Reflection Questions:
What phrase does your inner critic repeat most?
What truth from God’s Word will you speak back to it?
Where do you need to “reach out” to Jesus today—prayer, confession, a phone call, or rest?
If you believed you were fully loved and forgiven, what would you do differently this week?
Let’s Pray Together :
Jesus, thank You that Your love is louder than my inner critic.
I lay down shame, regret, and the heavy standards I’ve put on myself.
Wrap me in Your mercy.
Teach me to speak life to my heart, the way that woman spoke faith to hers.
Heal the places I cannot fix and make me whole as I reach for You.
Amen.
I Challenge You:
Write a two-line faith confession on a sticky note and place it where you’ll see it often:
God loves me. God forgives me.
With Him, I am being made whole.”
Let’s hide His word in our hearts,
The LORD gives strength to His people; the LORD blesses His people with peace.
— Psalm 29:11