The Pity Monster

And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. Luke 9:23

Being able to control self means being able to keep the pity monster in check too. It isn't just about self control of eating, watching our words and other things. Making statements to yourself like "if I weren't here things would be better". You know the gist of it but the "whoa is me" martyr of self. I admit I have done it. If we are honest probably we all have. We throw a giant pity party but we are the only one in attendance. 

The way to not allow the pity monster into your life is to think more of others than yourself. Take your mind off yourself for a change and dwell on the goodness of the Lord. Think of ways you can be a blessing to others. Go out of your way to help someone. If you are blessed to still have one or both parents alive, sit down and write them an actual letter with a stamp. Buy an unexpected gift for a friend. Maybe do an anonymous gift to someone like paying for the guy behind you in a drive thru lane. Get rid of any wrong thinking that causes you envy, jealously, or makes you want to gossip. 

The pity monster loves disrupting loves and pity is pitiful. Don't allow yourself to fall victim to feeling sorry for yourself. There are always people worse off than you are. Go find one of them and bless their day. 

PRAYER: Lord there are many opportunities to share love, joy, and hope with those around me. Help me Lord to get my mind off myself and onto others. In Jesus' name. Amen.

SELF PITY MONSTER

Here it comes again. Hurt feelings. Feeling sorry for self. Imagining
things that are not even happening. Feeling that someone is thinking
something about you that they aren't. Sounds pretty stupid to someone
who has not had it happen to them but take my word for it, this
monster is not a thing you want to visit you,ever!

When this ugly "self pity monster" attacks you need to get a grip
before you open your mouth or do something you will regret later. The
word "self" is very prominent. Thinking of yourself. Do you meddle
where you should not? Perhaps your mind starts thinking things that
are not even occurring? It is easy to slump into worry, pity, and
sadness if not focused on the goodness of the Lord.

It has been said when this "monster" attacks that maybe one thing is
you have too much time on your hands. The thing to do is occupy your
thoughts somewhere else. Once again behind this monster is ugly old
Satan who wants us to worry, fret, and think things that are not true
thus getting us to say stupid things we regret and then start worrying
why we did it. So staying busy is a really good thing!! Might I
suggest prayer first and foremost as a remedy for this malady.

Next we need to get into the word of God and stay in the word of God.
Reading and meditating on God's word, The Bible, will get your mind
somewhere else. Start by praising Jesus for who he is and thanking
Him. Think of ways you can maybe help another person and then your
own little "pity monster" will have no space to sit near you and
torment you. In your prayer time, ask God to take away the need to
feel self pity. When "self" is occupying the "throne" it is more
difficult to let the Lord Jesus Christ be king.

You will be bombarded if this has been a weakness but hang in there
and keep seeking Jesus to help you get this "monster" out of your life
forever!

Phillipians 4:8(NIV) reminds us 'Finally brother, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever is admirable-if tangy thing is excellent or
praiseworthy-think about such things.' There you have, the remedy for
getting your mind off yourself.

PRAYER: Father I do not mean to ever focus on myself as I know it is a
formula for disaster. The word selfish comes from self. Help me
remember that when I start to feel the pity monster attacking me and
run to you with open arms. It is my desire to have this monster never
visit me again and with your help Lord I can and will be successful.
In Jesus' name. Amen.

 

 

 

RISE UP FROM THAT PIT!

What has you down in the dumps? Maybe nothing does and if so praise God for that. But many people struggle with worries, fears, concerns, strife and turmoil in their life. Maybe the problems are real and valid but still God does not want you disabled by fear and worries. He wants you to be set free. When you are paralyzed by fear, chaos, and things in the world it is difficult to praise God. It is easy to start being a 'pit dweller' and be overly consumed with our self and our problems. The good news is God wants to set you free. Freedom comes by trusting Christ and believing He will take care of you. He is behind the scenes. Fear glorifies Satan and peace glorifies God. Who are you giving glory to?

Psalm 107:20 says " He sent His word and healed them and delivered them from their destruction's." Destruction's are things that put you in that 'pit' you are in when you can not seem to get your mind off the past, fears, problems, and things dragging you down. People who are drug down are not very close to God when they are dwelling in the valley. God wants to raise you up to the mountain top with Him.

Psalm 30:3 says "O Lord you brought me up from the grave , you spared me from going down into the pit." The remedy for 'pit dwellers' is to praise God even when you do not feel up to it and to stay in the word of God. A good book of the Bible for pit dwellers is to read a Psalm a day.

So choose today where you will be. Are you going to sink into a pitiful pit or raise yourself up to be on God's mountain. 1 Corinthians 15:57 says "But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

PRAYER: Lord you are my rock,my redeemer,my strength. When I am afraid I will trust in you. Lord I love your word for in it I grow and learn to have your peace. Thank you Lord for setting me free. In Jesus name. Amen.

Click on link to worship the Lord in song.

http://youtu.be/VTByzluCtMo

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.