Yesterday I was having a really tough time at work. Nothing was going my way and I could tell work was piling-up higher and higher. Likewise, my anxiety was rising too. I called my wife hoping to "vent" about it and tell her my frustrations. Within moments she had a response, "Just be glad you at least have a job." This was definitely not the answer I was looking for, nor what I wanted to hear at that time. However, it may have been exactly what I needed to hear.
My heart was pricked to the core and my spirit convicted me. I quickly realized that in my moment of SELF-pity. I elevated my own importance in my eyes. Romans 12:3 says "...not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think;..." In our moments of weakness we begin to think too highly of ourselves and we allow life’s hurts and injustices to dictate our emotional state. Bitterness can easily derail the fruit of the Holy Spirit. These fruits (Galations 5:22) should be dominating in a believers life.
1 Thessalonians 5:18-19 tells us that we are not to “quench the Holy Spirit.” Instead, we are to always be thankful in everything we do. It is near impossible to give thanks while clinging to self-pity, simply because, by definition, a self-indulgent tone is not focused on gratitude to others. Self-pity can never be thankful for anything God has allowed nor not allowed.
Rejecting the many impulses to feel sorry for ourselves will never be easy. Life provides many reasons to witness rejection, injustice, and the many cruelties of man. Our natural response is self-protection, which often results in self-pity. However, we can choose to “walk by the Spirit, and . . . not gratify the desires of the flesh” .
Loved ones, my prayer to you is that we choose instead to trust that God “will work everything for the good, to those who love God and are called according to His purpose”. In your moments of weakness, lift your eyes to your Heavenly father and thank Him for saving you!
Your fellow Believer,
Mason Phillips
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