PITY PARTIES AREN'T COOL

 Have you ever had a day where you woke up and started thinking about your problems before you started praising Jesus? I know I have. To stay joyful in the Lord you have to have right thinking. It is a spiritual discipline I have mentioned numerous times in my blog. We all slip up every now and then and let the enemy try to get us in a 'poor me' slump where you don't think of Jesus or his glory at all! When this happened to me recently I wanted to go back to bed but knew that was the enemy keeping me from my time alone with God. What better thing to do than keep a Christian devotion blogger feeling down, right?  It had not happened in quite a while and thankfully I snapped out of it with God's help.

Later that same day while driving through nearby Madison,Alabama where I used to live, I drove past a cemetery and a lady, probably in her mid thirties I am guessing, was sitting on a small plastic chair hanging over a fresh grave. It got me to thinking about who had died. My first thought was her child. But never the less witnessing this snapped me back to reality and my problems, tiny in the big scope of what this lady was probably dealing with. I turned around and parked across the street where she did not see me, said a prayer for her, and watched her from a distance as  a  thunderstorm approached. I wanted to drive over and give her my rain jacket but decided not to as she probably wanted solitude.

Sometimes we may think we are the only ones feeling down or gloomy when in actuality there are many people facing horrendous situations on a daily basis. Take a person incarcerated in prison for instance. Do you think they wake up with much hope?

Anyway the point being is two fold. First don't always be into self and your own problems. When you think of others or help others you can't help having joy. The second thing is to be careful what you think about. Like I said you can become disciplined in your thought patterns and God's word is the best way to do it. So start today and when you feel yourself feeling worthless,self condemning, pitiful, or sense a feeling of rejection cry out to Jesus who is able to lift you out of your pit. Next get the Bible out and start reading the book of John or Psalms. You will feel better.

Psalm 40:1-3 says "I waited patiently for the Lord to help me and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the more. He set my feet on solid ground, and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed.They will put their trust in the Lord." Finally Psalm 16:8 says " I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved."

PRAYER: Lord when I feel myself sinking into self pity help me remember all I have to be grateful for. I praise your name for simply having the gift of life. Thank you that you put me on earth to serve you. Help me always let my light shine.in Jesus name. Amen.