Saying ‘No’ to Self-Pity

"God is concerned about your hurt, but He doesn't want YOU concerned about it."

The reason self-pity is so destructive is that pride is at the root of it, and it causes us to focus too much on ourselves. I looked "self-pity" up in the dictionary and found the following definition: "A self-indulgent dwelling on one's own sorrows or misfortunes."

Psychiatrists have an interesting name for people who habitually indulge in self-pity--it's "injustice collector." These are the folks who are constantly dwelling on their hurts and hardships--whether real or imagined--and they enjoy thinking about them and talking about them. They lovingly collect and number each and every offense that others commit against them, and they search out people who will sympathize with them and commiserate with them. All this keeps the focus on themselves, which is what they want most.

But this isn't God's way. He instructs us to walk in the God-kind of love, which is "not self-seeking," and which "keeps no record of wrongs." (1 Corinthians 13:5) This is not to say that we should ignore or deny when we're being mistreated, but that we should take constructive action to see that we're treated with proper respect, or to remove ourselves from harm's way, rather than sit idly by, feeling sorry for ourselves.

Self-pity isn't just nonproductive--it's destructive. It can lead to bitterness, unforgiveness, and resentment. It doesn't bring people together--it divides them.

And these are some of the reasons why Satan works so hard to get us to focus on our wounds, rather than the cure--which is the love and wisdom of God.

Throughout the pages of the Bible, God tells us again and again that He wants us to bring our hurts and sorrows to Him, so that HE can comfort us. He not only wants to be our Comforter, but our Vindicator. (Psalm 135:14) If we'll let Him, He will defend us and fight our battles for us, leading us to victory every time.

A good antidote for self-pity is forgiveness. As we forgive those who offend us, we can let go of our negative emotions and ill-feelings toward others, and we can receive the comfort and healing that can only come from God.

God hurts when we hurt, and we wants to be our Deliverer. But we can block His efforts to comfort and rescue us when we insist on holding on to our feelings of resentment, bitterness, and unforgiveness.

As we choose to forgive, we open the door to God's involvement, and all the blessings and provisions that entails.

Another good antidote for self-pity is thankfulness. No matter what is going on in our lives, we always have reason to give thanks to God and praise Him.

Nothing is more offensive to God than our dwelling on our misfortunes and losses, and neglecting to recognize and enumerate all of the blessings He bestows on us daily.

Helen Keller said, "Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything good in the world."

We have been chosen by God, not just to live eternally with Him in heaven, but to make a difference for Him while we're still here on earth. Let's not allow self-pity to neutralize all the good we can do in this world in the name of Jesus.

Devotional By J.M.Farro - www.jesusfreakhideout.com

Photo by Misty Meyer

Being sorry for myself is a luxury I can't afford.- Stephen King

Sympathy is never wasted except when you give it to yourself.- John W. Raper

Why is prayer so important?

I often wondered why do we have to pray? Is not like God does not know what we need and what we are going through until we tell Him, because I’m sure He knows our thoughts. But He still wants us to pray. He wants us to talk to Him.

Colossians 4:2

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

Prayer is one of those things that sound easy , but it feels so hard to do it. Kind of going at the doctor because you’re not feeling well, and he sends you home and recommends that you drink enough water.

That’s simple right? You drink the amount of water needed for your body and you start feeling better. It definitely sounds easy but we still ignore it and find it hard to keep up.

I don’t know what’s the secret of prayer, but even Jesus spent most of His journey on Earth praying. If even Jesus Himself prayed…

When things are good, we forget to pray. We often find ourselves on our knees when we are desperate again. And it’s hard to reconnect, but after a few times, it becomes more natural, and better. It definitely feels better after we pray.

Prayer is knocking on Heaven’s doors.

2 Chronicles 30:27
The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place.

God’s will it will be done even if you pray or not, but there’s certain things He will only give you through prayer.

Mark 9:29
He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer. ”

So what do you prefer? A mediocre : get born, eat, live, die type of life? Or experiencing wonders every breath you take?

Prayer means submission, an honest prayer means putting your guard down and let God control the situation.

Here’s some good paragraphs I found on a Catholic blog:

"Prayer is easy. WE are difficult!

When we pray, therefore, we are forced to recognize who we are in the face of God, and sometimes He holds up a mirror, and the reflection there ain't so pretty, is it? Sometimes we get a good look at ourselves through His eyes because we've got a few flaws He wants to point out, and perhaps we don't want to see those flaws. Or perhaps we KNOW they are there but we don't really want to recognize them, or work on them."

"If you struggle with prayer, ask yourself what you're trying to get out of it. What are YOUR goals? WHY are you praying?

Then take a step back and look at God. Ask Him what He gets out of this relationship with us. Realize...nothing. God doesn't get ANYTHING out of it. He doesn't NEED us, but rather, WE need HIM! God created us entirely for Himself and wills our good - only our good! Our very ability to pray is in and of itself a pure gift from God."

"Prayer is simplicity itself. What is difficult is letting go of ourselves and our own wills enough to let God decide what and when. We have to let go of pride and realize that we can't manipulate Him.

Why is prayer difficult? Because through prayer, God is sanctifying us, is calling us to greater trials, conforming us to Himself, calling us to the Cross...all so that we might spend eternity with Him.

Thank you, Jesus. It really hurts to say it, and I don't know what's coming but....Thy will be done."

Source:

Drawing made by Jason Yaw.

Last paragraphs belongs to: http://adorotedevote.blogspot.com