No more self pity, it's pride and pride is dumb! :-)

Self Pity

I Kings 21:1-6 (v1) And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria.
(v2) And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give my thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it. Or if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.
(v3) And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my
fathers unto thee.
(v4) And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth
the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my
fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
(v5) But Jezebel his wife came to him and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?
(v6) And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite and said unto him,
Give me thy vineyard for money, or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard
for it; and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.


I. WHAT IS SELF PITY?

1. Self Pity is that Rewind Button in the Memory Bank of the Mind; it Replays Over And Over Again that Hurt or Offense that Happened to You

We don’t know how much time transpired from the time Ahab returned home from trying to bargain with Naboth until he spoke to Jezebel, but he had enough time to think about what had happened. He came home, went to his bed, and refused to eat. This withdrawal to his bedroom and refusal to eat leads me to believe he was feeling sorry for himself because he did not get what he wanted.

All of us, at one time or another (probably more times that we would care to admit), have had “pity parties”. And what keeps the “party” going is that little rewind button which keeps replaying the hurt over and over in our minds. I believe this is what was going on inside Ahab’s mind; he was rejected and it offended him deeply.

2. Self Pity is an Act of Pride

Granted it is a subtle form of pride, but it is still pride. Pride is whatever contributes to self. Notice it is called self pity. When I indulge in self pity, I’m not feeling sorry for you or for anybody else. I’m feeling sorry for me. Self pity is all about what has happened to me, poor me, nobody loves me. While Ahab lay in his bed refusing to take food, he was not thinking about Nabal, how hard it must have been to maintain such a magnificent vineyard. He was only thinking of himself.

3. Self Pity is Never the Direct Result of Any Injustice or Unfair Act that May Have Been
Perpetrated Against Us

Self pity is meant to be the result of our reaction to that injustice or unfair act. Naboth’s refusal to sell or give Ahab his vineyard was not the reason for Ahab’s self pity; it was Ahab’s reaction to that refusal.

II. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF DWELLING IN SELF PITY?

We should always be aware that self pity is a work of the flesh, and whenever we operate in the flesh, there will always be consequences.

I Kings 21:5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad,
that thou eatest no bread?

When Ahab was feeling sorry for himself, the first voice he heard was not of an angel, reassuring him. It was not the voice of a prophet sent by the Lord with a timely word. It was not an impression in his spirit, encouraging him to go on. The first voice he heard was that of his wife, Jezebel. And this brings us to our first point:

1. When You Dwell in Self Pity Satan Will Make Sure You Hear the Wrong Voice

While he was laying in bed, feeling sorry for himself, Jezebel was the last person Ahab needed to hear from at that time. She promised to get the vineyard of Naboth for him, and she did so by unscrupulous means. She worked behind the scenes to have this humble man falsely accused of blasphemy against God and the king. All those involved did her bidding. The end result was that this good man, who was only protecting what had been entrusted to him, was taken outside the city and stoned to death. Thus Ahab got the vineyard he wanted.

When we dwell in self pity we may hear thoughts in our minds such as, “Your wife doesn’t appreciate you; that good-looking woman at work would be right for you.” “Your husband doesn’t care about your needs; that handsome guy at the office is a very understanding person.” But you have to be careful of the thoughts you listen to. Self pity has a way of pretending to soothe your wounded spirit. It will tell you your husband or wife doesn’t really love you and leaving him or her for someone else will make you feel better, but it actually stirs up more trouble. Jezebel undoubtedly made Ahab feel better when she promised him Naboth’s vineyard, but she really caused him more trouble in the eyes of the Lord.


Genesis 25:29-34 (v29) And Jacob sod pottage, and Esau came from the field and he was
faint.
(v30) And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage, for I am
faint. Therefore was his name called Edom.
(v31) And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
(v32) And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die, and what profit shall this birthright
do to me?
(v33) And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he swear unto him, and he sold his
birthright unto Jacob.
(v34) Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles, and he did eat and drink, and
rose up and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

“Behold I am at the point to die.” Sometimes that “wrong voice” you hear may come from within your own spirit. Often times, when you feel sorry for yourself, you are actually entertaining a lie. Esau was not literally at the point where he was about to die; he was just really hungry. When you say, “Nobody loves me,” that’s a lie; there are a lot of people who love you. When you say, “God’s too busy to care about me,” that’s another lie; He is greatly concerned with your every need, great and small.

Was Esau feeling sorry for himself? I believe he was. If he had said something like, “I’m so hungry I could eat a camel,” that would be one thing. But self pity is all about negative thoughts. “Nobody loves me.” “God is too busy for me.” Esau’s comment was, “I am at the point to die, what good is this birthright to me?” And that brings us to our second point:

2. Dwelling in Self Pity Will Leave You in a Vulnerable State that Can Cause You
To Make Foolish Choices

Esau was feeling sorry for himself. In so doing, he had placed himself in a vulnerable position where Jacob was able to take advantage of him. He made the foolish choice to trade that which should have been priceless- his birthright- for something which would satisfy for the moment, but could never satisfy for the long term- a bowl of soup.

Since indulging in self pity is never a spiritual act, but an emotional one, it always puts us in a vulnerable state. And when your emotions are in turmoil, it lends itself to making irrational choices. Are you hungry for affection that you feel your husband or wife doesn’t give you? If you choose to feel sorry for yourself, that emotional reaction will put you in a very vulnerable and dangerous state. It is then that Satan will send along someone who seems to be understanding, one who really listens to you, who really seems to care. Are you going to be able to make the wise choice, with your emotions churning around inside you? Are you going to throw away your marriage, your self respect, your integrity for an overnight fling?


Genesis 27:35-36,41 (v35) And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away
thy blessing.
(v36) And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? For he hath supplanted me these two times;
he took away my birthright and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said,
Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?
(v41) And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him, and
Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand, then will I slay my
brother Jacob.

Our Scripture passage picks up right when Isaac tells Esau what Jacob had just done. To refresh our memories, Isaac, who was old and blind, was preparing to give the blessing that rightfully belonged to the firstborn, which was Esau. He sent Esau into the field to hunt for venison. Rebekah, Isaac’s wife and the mother of Esau and Jacob, overheard their conversation and conspired with Jacob to deceive his father. Jacob killed a kid of the goats and she prepared the meat in such a way as to make Isaac think it was venison. Some of the hair from the carcass was put on Jacob’s hands and on the smooth of his neck to make him pass for Esau, along with one of Esau’s good coats. When he went before his father, Isaac was fooled into thinking it was Esau. And so he gave the blessing reserved for the firstborn.

When Esau found out what had been done to him, he became very angry with Jacob. This would have been understandable if he had channeled that anger in a positive way. I say this because what his brother and mother did to him was wrong, no matter what you might think about him. Esau’s character is not on trial, at this point. This whole incident was a case of parental favoritism which pitted one brother against another and created problems which extended beyond that immediate generation.

Having said all that, while Esau was victimized, he chose the wrong response which only exacerbated the problem. His anger turned into hatred toward Jacob. And this brings us to our third point:

2. Self Pity is a Breeding Ground for Such Things as Hatred; Bitterness; Malice
An Unforgiving Heart; and Resentment

Why is self pity a breeding ground? Because it can and will create a victim’s mentality which says, “I have the right to be bitter: look what he did to me.” “I have the right to feel the way I do after what she did.” Self pity says, “Look what happened to me.” This is basically what Esau said, “Look what happened to me; Jacob has cheated me twice.” As we said earlier, self pity is that rewind button in the memory bank of the mind. The more we replay that offense or hurt, the more we will feel sorry for ourselves. And each time we rehearse it, the devil comes and adds his suggestions, thereby making the problem seem worse than it is.

Let me emphasize that what happened to Esau was not something he conjured up in his mind to make Jacob look bad. And neither was it trite and unimportant. The blessing reserved for the firstborn was indeed a big deal. What happened to him was real; the realization that his blessing had been taken away by deceit could not have been more devastating. No, I am not trying to create a groundswell of sympathy for him. The reason I have said all that was to say this: You may have been blind-sided, spiritually as well as emotionally. The hurt is very real, the wound is very deep. If it were a physical wound, it could not hurt any more. If it were a physical wound you could go to the doctor and have it taken care of. But this is a wound that cannot be seen with the eye. This is a wound that bandages and gauze and stitches and medicines can’t ease.

So when I say that feeling sorry for yourself is not the answer, it is not to sound mean and heartless. Yes, there will always be those who will say, “Oh, you big baby, stop feeling sorry for yourself.” As though the pain you are experiencing is something minor. This which you are reading is not designed to minimize your hurt as something petty, nor is it meant to ridicule you. However, I speak the truth when I say that dwelling in self pity is the worst thing you can do. It is a trap that will take you further and further down. It is a breeding ground for unforgiveness; bitterness; hatred; animosity; malice; and resentment. It will leave you with a victim’s mentality that will cause you to treat innocent people, people who love you, with scorn.

Esau dwelt in self pity and the germ of bitterness was born. And he infected succeeding generations with that germ. If you study the history of the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, you will find that they were filled with bitter hatred toward the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob. This kept on long after the two brothers had reconciled. In fact it continued long after they died. This bitterness became so intense that it spread like a cancer throughout that nation. Men of God, such as Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Obadiah, Amos, Malachi, and Isaiah prophesied its total and irreparable destruction, which came to pass. To this day Edom is a nation no more; not even its language exists. How did it all begin? It began when one man who had been cheated started feeling sorry for himself.

Why am I saying all of this? Not to give a history lesson. You can tell yourself that feeling sorry for yourself makes you feel better, but in reality you are entering a dangerous trap, not only for yourself, but also for those you love. All you who have suffered the ravages of divorce because your spouse was abusive or defiled the marital covenant possibly feel you have been victimized. And nobody is saying you haven’t been. Nobody is saying the hurt isn’t real or that it’s something trivial. Nobody is saying there is not a time to grieve. And nobody is saying that the grieving process is for a set time. There is a time for grieving, however, and a time to stop grieving and go on living. Self pity is a snare that will constantly keep you in the grieving stage.

Self pity will leave you with a victim’s mentality which says, “I have the right to be bitter against him.” “I have the right to feel resentment toward her.” Your words will reveal that bitterness and resentment. Your countenance will reveal the animosity you have whenever you have dealings with that individual, or whenever that person’s name is mentioned in your presence. Your children hear those words, and they see your countenance. Don’t think it will not have an effect on them. You can say, “That’s my problem, not theirs.” Don’t you realize that you are transferring some of your bitterness onto them? Think about it- Esau passed on his bitterness to his children, and his children passed it on to their children, and down the line until, years after he died, that bitterness was still raging.

The question you must answer is this: Do you want your children to be filled with the same kind of anger and bitterness toward their father? Dad, do you want them to share your resentment toward their mother? That is a definite likelihood if you choose to live in self pity.


Acts 3:1-2 (v1) Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer,
being the ninth hour.
(v2) And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at
the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the
temple.

Please don’t get the idea that I’m suggesting this lame man sat around feeling sorry for himself. And don’t think I’m also implying that anyone who is handicapped or disabled indulges in self pity. This story, however, emphasizes a definite consequence of self pity, which is our fourth point:

3. Self Pity Will Leave You Crippled

As we read this story we are given to understand that this man could not walk at all. He could not walk; he could not run; he could not hop, skip, or jump. I don’t think he could even crawl. Someone who cannot walk cannot move forward, except with help. His handicap, his inability to move forward is, I believe, a perfect object lesson on self pity. Self pity will leave you crippled. It will leave you crippled spiritually because it will keep you from advancing forward in the Lord. It will leave you crippled emotionally because it holds you hostage in a constant state of grief and unhappiness. It will leave you crippled mentally because your thinking will not progress beyond thoughts of self.

We are told this lame man had to be carried every morning to the gate which was called Beautiful. One thing certain about self pity is that the person who lives in that state has to be “carried” by other people. What do I mean by that? I’m talking about being “carried” by other people’s faith; being “carried” by their love; being “carried” by their patience. The truth of the matter is that you’re too big to be carried around all the time. You should be at the stage in your Christian development where you are carrying others yourself.

We are also told that every morning he would ask for donations from anybody entering the temple. The person who dwells in self pity not only feels sorry for himself, but wants other people to feel sorry for him as well. It becomes a matter of, “What can you do for me?”, and “It will be your fault for what happens to me if you don’t help me.” You will notice that none of the people who may have given this man alms could make him walk. If that were the case he wouldn’t have to beg every morning. What am I saying? I’m saying that entertaining someone in their self pity is not really going to help him. What is the answer? We will discuss this in our next section.

III. HOW DO I OVERCOME SELF PITY?

Acts 3:3-8 (v3) Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
(v4) And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
(v5) And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
(v6) Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee. In the Name
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.
(v7) And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle
bones received strength.
(v8) And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking,
and leaping, and praising God.

1. Make the Choice to Rise Up in the Strength of the Lord and Walk Again

The lame man was expecting money from Peter and John. What he didn’t expect was to be told to get up and walk. But that was exactly what he needed to hear. He was challenged to make a decision: either rise up in faith and receive his miracle, or choose to remain a cripple.

You have a choice as well. You can either choose to remain in the ashes of your self pity, or you can choose to rise up in faith, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and walk again. Just as Peter did to the lame man, the Lord has reached out His hand to you. What is His hand? His hand is His Word, His promises of deliverance and restoration. Just like the lame man, if you will reach out by faith and grasp those promises with your heart you will receive the strength you need to rise up out of self pity.

Now I am not discounting the time element involved. This was the time for his miracle. Nor am I discounting the grieving process. If you have been hurt for whatever reason there is that normal period to grieve and nobody is trying to deprive you of that. However, that being said, there comes the time to stop grieving, and rise up in the power of the Lord and walk again. Walk in faith; walk in forgiveness; walk while leaning on Jesus for support. When Peter held out his hand, that was time for the lame man. God has reached out His hand to you and He is saying, “It is time; rise up and walk.”

The lame man chose to reach out by faith, and he received his miracle. He was no longer crippled. No longer did he need anybody to carry him around. No longer did he have to sit and beg for money. Where once he could not walk at all, he entered into the temple with Peter and John, walking, and leaping, and praising God. You can remain in self pity if you want to, but you are cutting yourself off from the joy God has for you. “Joy comes in the morning,” the Bible tells us. Your “morning” will come when you obey the voice of the Lord and rise up. Otherwise you’ll remain in mourning. The only thing preventing you from advancing from “mourning” to “morning” is u.


Acts 16:22-26 (v22) And the multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates
rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.
(v23) And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging
the jailor to keep them safely.
(v24) Who having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their
feet fast in the stocks.
(v25) And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners
heard them.
(v26) And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were
shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.

2. Make the Choice to Rejoice

If there were two people who probably could have argued, “We have the right to feel sorry for ourselves,” it was Paul and Silas. They were beaten and thrown into prison and for what reason? Because the Spirit of God had used them to set a young girl free from demonic possession. She had been a profit maker for her bosses and her new freedom had ended their means of profit. And that did not set well with them at all. Therefore these two men of God were drug into the streets, beaten almost to death, and thrown into a dank, dark dungeon where vermin probably ran freely throughout. Their wounds had not been treated and the danger of infection or disease was a possibility. Their feet had been placed in stocks.

With all these things that had happened to them, there was nothing for them to do except lay down and die. Or was there? The Bible tells us in verse 25 that Paul and Silas- beaten, hurt, humiliated- prayed and sang praises to God. They made the choice to rejoice.

How about you? Have you been hurt and devastated? Not because of anything wrong you have done, but perhaps your good works have been spoken of as evil. Perhaps you have been misunderstood. And you have been wounded, not by a cat-o-nine tails, but by mean-spirited words. You have been thinking about giving up and dying inside. You want to curl up into a fetal position, figuratively speaking. You had rather withdraw yourself and descend into a dungeon of self pity, but let me urge you to make the choice to rejoice. When Paul and Silas sang praises, the Bible says that suddenly an earthquake shook the foundations of that prison and everyone that was shackled was set free.

Friend, please realize that self pity is a terrible bondage to be in, and that its foundation is pride. When you make the choice to rejoice, the Spirit of God comes as only He can do, and shakes that foundation to its knees, causing it to relinquish its hold on you. “Will it be easy to do?” you might ask. No, it will probably be the hardest thing you’ve ever done. But it will be well worth it. Wouldn’t you rather walk in freedom than to remain in bondage?


I Peter 2:21-23 (v21) For even hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example, that ye should follow in His steps.
(v22) Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.
(v23) Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not, but
committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously.

3. Make the Choice to Commit Yourself and Your Situation to God

If Paul and Silas had the right to indulge in self pity, how much more our Lord Jesus Christ? He, Who did no sin, was reviled. He, Whose mouth was not filled with guile, was cursed; was betrayed; was spat upon; was beaten; his beard plucked from His face; was hung naked on a wooden cross in the middle of the day, not only to be cruelly crucified, but to be humiliated in public. He had heard the taunts, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” He had heard the false witnesses testify against Him at His sham trial. He had experienced rejection and, much worse, separation from His Father. “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Yet through it all, “when He was reviled, He reviled not again.” He never retaliated. “When He suffered, He threatened not again.” He never said to any of His accusers, “I’ll get even with you if it’s the last thing I do.” No, “[He] committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously.” He never felt sorry for Himself.

The Lord Himself was a living model for how we should act when we are attacked, maligned, or falsely accused. Don’t live in self pity; if you do you will develop a persecution complex, a paranoia which will cause you to think that everybody is against you. Don’t swear vengeance on your enemies, it will only bring you to their level. Instead, commit yourself, your hurts, your disappointments, your anxieties to Him Who is faithful and willing to work all things out for your good.

To commit your problem to the Lord means that you give up your right- or what you perceive to be your right- to dwell in self pity. You give up your right to become bitter, to harbor unforgiveness. You give up your right to get even. And it is not hoping God will do something on your behalf to get even for you. It is all about dropping the whole thing in God’s lap and walking away from it. A lot of people have their own agenda when it comes handling their hurts. They have already figured out what they are going to do, which is plotting out and out revenge. They have also figured out what God is supposed to do. And when He doesn’t do what they want Him to do in the time frame they want Him to do it in, they step in and take over.

To commit your problem to the Lord means that you have taken your hands off it and thereby resist all efforts to interfere. You wait upon the Holy Spirit and seek direction from Him.

Luke 10:30-35 (v30) And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem
to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and
departed, leaving him half dead.
(v31) And by chance there came down a certain priest that way, and when he saw him, he
passed by on the other side.
(v32) And likewise, a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed
by on the other side.
(v33) But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was, and when he saw him,
he had compassion on him.
(v34) And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his
own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
(v35) And on the morrow, when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the
host,
and said to him, Take care of him, and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I
will repay thee.

4. Make the Choice to Do Good for Other People

One good way to shake off the cobwebs of self pity is to do something to help others. This is beneficial because it takes our minds off ourselves. The Samaritans were a mixed breed and hated by the Jews. So how was it that this particular Samaritan took the time, effort, and money to help this stranger? Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that he had suffered his share of abuse and discrimination just because of his ancestry. Perhaps he had been ridiculed. Perhaps he had been scorned by Jews who thought him inferior to them. Perhaps he had been beaten himself at some point in his life. So why bother with this stranger? He had suffered enough. It wasn’t his problem and certainly none of his business. So why take the time?

I realize it’s hard to argue from silence, since the Bible is quiet about his past. And there are those who will claim that he never really existed, that he was only a character in a parable taught by Jesus. But real or not, he represents the individual who is labeled only because of his ethnicity or background.

Why did he take the time, effort, and money to help this stranger? I personally believe that at a crucial time in his life, he made the choice not to allow self pity to turn into bitterness, and anger, and resentment. Why do I say that? I say this because when a person lives his or her life in one continual pity party after another, it is nigh unto impossible to feel compassion for others. After all, your problem is bigger than anyone else’s and is certainly more important than anyone else’s. No one has had to undergo what you’ve gone through. Everyone else’s problems, therefore, are inconsequential; they don’t really matter to you.

And so instead of passing by, we read that he was moved with compassion and went to this stranger, bound up his wounds, put him on his own mule, or whatever animal he was riding, took him to an inn, and made sure he was properly cared for. This was something the priest was supposed to do, since he was the man of God. This was something the Levite should have done. He was a member of the priestly tribe. No, this stranger who was robbed, beaten, and left for dead was cared for by someone who had possibly, probably suffered abuse himself.

As we mentioned earlier, helping others when you are hurting, and your flesh wants to feel sorry for itself is beneficial because it takes your mind off you, your hurt, your self pity. In doing so, you take your hands off your situation and thereby give the Holy Spirit. Who is the active Agent of the Godhead, the liberty and mobility to move on your behalf.

In conclusion, have you been hurt by someone recently? Or even a long time ago? Have you fallen into that trap of self pity, thinking it would make you feel better? If so, it’s time to make some choices. Make the choice to rise up and walk; make the choice to rejoice; make the choice to commit your situation to the Lord; and make the choice to reach out and help others. These choices are not to be made flippantly and they cannot be carried out in your own strength or wisdom. It requires complete leaning upon the Lord. If you will make these choices, there is that joy which no man can take away, ready to flow forth from within.


http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=109243

Psalm 27

¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
so why should I tremble?
² When evil people come to devour me,
when my enemies and foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
³ Though a mighty army surrounds me,
my heart will not be afraid.
Even if I am attacked,
I will remain confident.

⁴ The one thing I ask of the Lord—
the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
delighting in the Lord’s perfections
and meditating in his Temple.
⁵ For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
⁶ Then I will hold my head high
above my enemies who surround me.
At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
singing and praising the Lord with music.

⁷ Hear me as I pray, O Lord.
Be merciful and answer me!
⁸ My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
⁹ Do not turn your back on me.
Do not reject your servant in anger.
You have always been my helper.
Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me,
O God of my salvation!
¹⁰ Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord will hold me close.

¹¹ Teach me how to live, O Lord.
Lead me along the right path,
for my enemies are waiting for me.
¹² Do not let me fall into their hands.
For they accuse me of things I’ve never done;
with every breath they threaten me with violence.
¹³ Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness
while I am here in the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait patiently for the Lord.
Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

Poem

This is a poem from the pages of my journal written from the perspective of the lies/accusations of my enemy vs. the Truth from my Creator.

Format:
1st line = enemy
2nd line = Truth


Enjoy. :) Hopefully you can relate to one or more of these and recognize the lie and replace it with the truth next time you hear it echoing around in the back of your mind. I've found that you can't get rid of lies by mere recognition, but you have to REPLACE it with dwelling on the Truth and the Author of Truth. Be encouraged! Truth CAN be known. :)


"You'll never be good enough!" My enemy chants,
"You're my chosen one." My Love says with one glance.

"You can't do this, you are crazy!"
"My ways are not your ways, my sweet little daisy."

"You don't have the strength, You can't make it through!"
"Your heart is resilient, I would know - I MADE YOU."

"You think you will make it? Ha. See and you'll fail."
"My strength in your weakness will surely prevail."

"Don't dream anymore, get realistic. Be real."
"Behave like my daughter, you are marked by my seal."

"He won't come through - take control, it's right!"
"Those who act like little children -- Precious in my sight."

"Don't believe Him - Look at what it might cost you!"
"No where will I lead where I won't carry you through."

Grace - Cooke

Grace

Grace is a weapon of mass destruction. It will overthrow every negative. It neutralizes everything contrary to God’s nature by being the revelation of that nature. Grace is always firmly placed next to any sin or error. Where sin abounds grace shows up much more powerfully (Romans 5:20). Grace is God’s abundance in the place of man’s deficiency. Grace is the foundation for confidence in God. All growth is built on grace. It gives people a place to stand in favor. Whilst they are learning to be Christ-like, God does not punish for mistakes. He provides for them. It is a huge adjustment to move from sinful man to beloved son.

The journey into being made in His image would be terrible were it not for grace. At all times people would be beset by fear, anxiety and doubt about their performance as a believer. Man can never be good enough by his own efforts. Without grace they would be enslaved to a religious spirit and at the mercy of doubt. Grace is the enjoyment of God that empowers people to love the learning in the freedom He supplies. Grace makes love, mercy and truth accessible in a way that elevates people without downgrading them first.

you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord

“See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc; no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord….“ – Is. 54:16-17

THE WORD OF THE LORD GIVEN TO ME IN OCTOBER 1990

A. In October 1990, while on a 30 day ministry trip to the UK, the Lord spoke to me. He said that He was establishing an “international family of affection” in preparation for His End-Time purposes. He would bring strategic shifts and re-alignments of ministries and people. I believe that as we grow many shifts will come in the IHOP structure and teams. We must respond in faith instead of fear and rejection when the Lord makes shifts.

B. The Lord spoke to me about this in a trance in Cardiff, Wales on Oct. 5, 1990, at 4 AM. Jesus said, "No one with a control spirit can fully experience My Kingdom.”

C. The Holy Spirit told me a control spirit consists of having a spirit of possessiveness and being entrenched in religious opinions against other ministries. (It is more than being pushy or nosy).

D. Jesus continued to look into my eyes and said, "All personal rights must be relinquished."

E. The Holy Spirit then gave me Ps. 24:1 and Rev. 4:10 saying, "The Father’s will is central in His Kingdom. The earth belongs to the Lord. All must cast their crowns down before Him."

1 The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness…and those who dwell therein. (Ps. 24:1) 10 The 24 fall down before Him…and cast their crowns before the Throne, saying: 11 "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power..." (Rev. 4:10-11)

F. We naturally make decisions that give us an advantage over others. We must seek to always take an extra step in the decision making process to specifically ask the Holy Spirit what He wants.

G. The Lord told me to say these things. I argued saying that I should not say these things because I was in the midst of a controversy. The Spirit said, "I have a controversy with My people.

H. After the trance lifted, God’s power came on me violently for about 15 seconds. The Spirit impressed me saying, "I will release My power to establish this truth. Some will experience small measures of My power without embracing this. No one will experience the fullness of the power I want to release if they have a control spirit."

It is easy to pass judgments based on outward appearances. It is easy to judge other ministries or the decisions some make to move to another city or change teams, etc. We must ask God for discernment so that we see people and their ministry assignments through His eyes. We must not base all our opinions by what we see and hear with our physical eyes and ears.

16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. (2 Cor. 5:16)

B. If we had all the available information about what God has called one of our co-workers to and why, we would still have less than 1% of the information that God has about His purposes and strategies in calling a person to do a certain thing.

C. Jesus made judgments (evaluations) by discernment not by what seemed obvious in the natural.

3 His delight is in the fear of the LORD, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears. (Isa. 11:3)

DIFFERENT TRIBES IN THE BODY OF CHRIST: STRATEGIC RE-ALIGNMENTS

A. The Holy Spirit gave me a picture of the nation of Israel being established in 12 distinct tribes. Each tribe was given a different assignment that involved much diversity. However, they were called to be unified in war and worship.

In a similar way, the Body of Christ is composed of different tribes that each have different mandates and assignments from God. The diverse mandates in the Body are not the cause of division. It is the attitude in which we hold our mandate and resources and how we view others.

C. Unity does not require the removal of the distinctions of the tribes in the Body of Christ, but an attitude of blessing, generosity and release that celebrates who others are in God’s eyes.

The principle of our inheritance: we have an eternal inheritance in every person, city orministry that we sowed into with love (time, labor, intercession, money, tears, encouragement,etc.). We do not lose our inheritance when we have a wrong spirit, but we lose the joy of it.

38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and

running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. (Lk. 6:38)

B. The Lord is orchestrating strategic shifts and re-alignments of ministries and people. If we bless and celebrate people going to other ministries or cities (or departments or worship teams at IHOP), then we have joy and an increased inheritance (for both parties). If we resist the shifts, then we lose the joy and suffer with unnecessary strife and wounded relationships.

Those who walk in a Kingdom spirit do not lose people but gain friendships and Kingdom alliances. Instead of losing spiritual sons and daughters, they gain spiritual families and a spiritual inheritance in different cities and nations.

E. Without blessing and joy in the relationship we cannot see how God sees the other person.

F. We naturally seek to protect our honor, money and influence. A spirit of self protectiveness creates anxiety and division and much unnecessary pain. Unity occurs when we approach relationships with a free spirit that can ask for God’s will regardless of what it costs.

The Purpose of his Will - that we might be for the Praise of His Glory

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, ¹² in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
eph 1:11-12

"Your will above all else
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing you praise

Your light will shine when all else fades, never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart and my soul
Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out
Lord let justice and praise become my embrace
To love you from the inside out"

Ever Devoted

I'm so tired of chasing worthless things
Seems they never satisfy
So disappointed, groping for more
I'm left more empty than before
I'm crying out to be more intimate
To walk more deeply with my Lord
Whatever's standing in the way
Isn't worth it anymore!

There's no other way
I want to live my life
Than to live it
Devoted to the Lord
To belong to Him
Faithful to the end
Ever devoted
Devoted to the Lord

I'm through demanding all my problems to be solved
Insist God meet my every need
I've got to die to my selfish ways
Lay myself down at His feet

There's no other way
I want to live my life
Than to live it
Devoted to the Lord
To belong to Him
Faithful to the end
Ever devoted
Devoted to the Lord

Worship

The Lord is speaking to me a lot tonight about a restoration and renewal in community with a rededication of the Temple in WORSHIP. 1 Chron 29-30

Bring it Lord, New beginnings, purifying the Levites and the worship leaders and a renewal.


Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God.

It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness, nourishment of mind by His truth, purifying of imagination by His beauty, opening of the heart to His love, and submission of will to His purpose.

And all this gathered up in adoration is the greatest of human expressions of which we are capable.

I rejoice when the Lord is worshiped wholeheartedly.

I give priority to the public worship of the Lord through music.

I am careful to keep my life pure and available for the Lord's use at any time.

New beginnings!

Purify and rededicate the Temple.

I respond quickly to the call to serve the Lord and lead his people in worship.

I come with other leaders to repent and worship before the Lord.

I ask the Lord to forgive the sins of my nation.

Being radical means going back to the root

I encourage the leaders of God's people to purify their lives for worship and service.

I openly admit the sins of my family and forefathers.

1 Chron 29

My sons, do not neglect your duties any longer! The Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him, and to lead the people in worship and present offerings to him.”

These men called together their fellow Levites, and they all purified themselves. Then they began to cleanse the Temple of the Lord, just as the king had commanded. They were careful to follow all the Lord’s instructions in their work. ¹⁶ The priests went into the sanctuary of the Temple of the Lord to cleanse it, and they took out to the Temple courtyard all the defiled things they found. From there the Levites carted it all out to the Kidron Valley.

¹⁷ They began the work in early spring, on the first day of the new year,^[a] and in eight days they had reached the entry room of the Lord’s Temple. Then they purified the Temple of the Lord itself, which took another eight days. So the entire task was completed in sixteen days.

The Temple Rededication

¹⁸ Then the Levites went to King Hezekiah and gave him this report: “We have cleansed the entire Temple of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table of the Bread of the Presence with all its utensils. ¹⁹ We have also recovered all the items discarded by King Ahaz when he was unfaithful and closed the Temple. They are now in front of the altar of the Lord, purified and ready for use.”

King Hezekiah then stationed the Levites at the Temple of the Lord with cymbals, lyres, and harps. He obeyed all the commands that the Lord had given to King David through Gad, the king’s seer, and the prophet Nathan. ²⁶ The Levites then took their positions around the Temple with the instruments of David, and the priests took their positions with the trumpets.

²⁷ Then Hezekiah ordered that the burnt offering be placed on the altar. As the burnt offering was presented, songs of praise to the Lord were begun, accompanied by the trumpets and other instruments of David, the former king of Israel. ²⁸ The entire assembly worshiped the Lord as the singers sang and the trumpets blew, until all the burnt offerings were finished. ²⁹ Then the king and everyone with him bowed down in worship. ³⁰ King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to praise the Lord with the psalms written by David and by Asaph the seer. So they offered joyous praise and bowed down in worship.

³¹ Then Hezekiah declared, “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord, bring your sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings to the Temple of the Lord.” So the people brought their sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings, too. ³² The people brought to the Lord 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 male lambs for burnt offerings. ³³ They also brought 600 cattle and 3,000 sheep and goats as sacred offerings.

³⁴ But there were too few priests to prepare all the burnt offerings. So their relatives the Levites helped them until the work was finished and more priests had been purified, for the Levites had been more conscientious about purifying themselves than the priests had been. ³⁵ There was an abundance of burnt offerings, along with the usual liquid offerings, and a great deal of fat from the many peace offerings.

So the Temple of the Lord was restored to service. ³⁶ And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because of what God had done for the people, for everything had been accomplished so quickly.

1 Chron 30

Do not be stubborn, as they were, but submit yourselves to the Lord. Come to his Temple, which he has set apart as holy forever. Worship the Lord your God so that his fierce anger will turn away from you.
⁹ “For if you return to the Lord, your relatives and your children will be treated mercifully by their captors, and they will be able to return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful. If you return to him, he will not continue to turn his face from you.”

The two words, spirit and truth, correspond to the how and the whom of worship. Worshiping in spirit is the opposite of worshiping in mere external ways. It's the opposite of formalism and traditionalism. Worshiping in truth is the opposite of worship based on an inadequate view of God. Together the words "spirit and truth" mean that real worship comes from the spirit within and is based on true views of God. Worship must have heart and worship must have head. Worship must engage your emotions and worship must engage your thought. Truth without emotion produces dead orthodoxy and a church full of unspiritual fighters. Emotion without truth produces empty frenzy and cultivates flaky people who reject the discipline of rigorous thought. True worship comes from people who are deeply emotional and who love deep and sound doctrine.

The fuel of worship is the truth of a gracious, sovereign God; the furnace of worship is your spirit; and the heat of worship is the vital affections of reverence, fear, adoration, contrition, trust, joy, gratitude, and hope.

But something is missing from that analogy, namely, fire. The fuel of truth in the furnace of your spirit does not automatically produce the heat of worship. There has to be fire, which I think is the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus says in v. 23, "True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth," some take him to mean "in the Holy Spirit." I've taken him to mean that worship must come from your spirit within, instead of being merely formal and external. But in John 3:6 Jesus connects God's Spirit and our spirit in a remarkable way. He says, "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit." In other words, until the Holy Spirit touches our spirit with the flame of life, our spirit is so dead it does not even qualify as spirit. Only that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. So when Jesus says that true worshipers worship in spirit, he must mean that true worship only comes from spirits that are made alive and sensitive and vital by the touch of the Holy Spirit.

So now we can complete the analogy: the fuel of worship is the grand truth of a gracious and sovereign God; the fire that makes the fuel burn white hot is the quickening of the Holy Spirit; the furnace made alive and warm by the flame of truth is our renewed spirit; and the resulting heat of our affections is worship, pushing its way out in tears, confessions, prayers, praises, acclamations, lifting of hands, bowing low, and obedient lives. Notice verse 34. When his disciples come back with food, Jesus says, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work." The work of God is to seek real worshipers. Jesus was sent to accomplish this work. Therefore we should see the whole interchange with the Samaritan woman as the work of God in Jesus seeking a real worshiper. In verse 35 Jesus applies his example to us, "Do you not say there are yet four months and then comes the harvest? I tell you, lift up your eyes and see how the fields are already white for harvest." There is a white harvest of harlots in Samaria. I have just made one into a real worshiper. That's why the Father sent me; so send I you. God seeks people to worship him in spirit and truth. Here comes the city of Sychar white unto harvest. If you love the glory of God, make ready to reap.

New life

why does your heart feel insecure?
do you have clarity on that?
it's probably partially the Lord highlighting things for healing and freedom, and partially satan being a stinky pants.
Sent at 10:45 AM on Tuesday
me: yeah
Sent at 10:48 AM on Tuesday
Monica: as you're able today, spend time with Jesus - not doing a bible study, but meditating on the Word that He leads you to read. spend time receiving His heart about it and for you.
and spend time seeking His heart for others
basically - draw near to His heart. he'll fill you and teach you to love more out of the overflow of His heart
Sent at 10:49 AM on Tuesday
Monica: be blessed in that. Papa, draw krissy near to Your heart today, and show her the wealth of affection that You have for her. Show her new revelation of Your mercy and kindness
and touch/fill her heart with a new measure of understanding and delight in You.
bring light to any warfare of the enemy, especially as he would seek to bring discouragement and attack against the reality of who she is in Christ.
and break her free from it and wash all residue of nasty crap away, Holy Spirit.
I pray you'd encounter her today with the abundance of You, Lord.

Faith in what GOD has done!

"We cannot succeed without stepping out in faith,not in our works. If we believe our acceptance is based on our doing, we will always feel rejected when we fail to do the right thing. But if we see that our acceptance is based on what God has done, we will truly be free."

Why Facebook (and Your Church) Might Be Making You Sad

We've been warned that social media can distract us, shorten our attention spans, disconnect us from real-life relationships. Now a new study suggests that Facebook might also be making us miserable. I suspect there's something to this, and it's not just about Facebook. It's about our churches.

Slate magazine cites a paper in a social psychology journal that started with an observation about how college students felt more dejected after logging on to Facebook. There was something saddening about "scrolling through others' attractive photos, accomplished bios, and chipper status updates." The students' moods were darkened because they believed everyone else was happier than they are.

Journalist Libby Copeland speculates that Facebook might "have a special power to make us sadder and lonelier." How can this be, though, when Facebook is generally so, well, happy, brimming with smiling faces and beautiful families? Well, that's just the point.

"By showcasing the most witty, joyful, bullet-pointed versions of people's lives, and inviting constant comparisons in which we tend to see ourselves as the losers, Facebook appears to exploit an Achilles' heel of human nature," Copeland writes. "And women—an especially unhappy bunch of late—may be especially vulnerable to keeping up with what they imagine is the happiness of the Joneses."

Yes, Copeland writes, Facebook can chronicle cute kids, and warm moments, but that is never the whole, or even most, of the story of anyone's life. "Tearful falls and tantrums are rarely recorded, nor are the stretches of sheer mind-blowing," she writes.

Now, in one sense, I want to say, who really cares about Facebook. If you are that absorbed in comparing yourselves to others in this way, shut the computer screen and detox from the blue glow. But, it seems to me, the very same phenomenon is present in the pews of our Christian churches.

Jesus Blood

Jesus’ Blood Keeps On Cleansing You

1 John 1:7 7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

During the day, the devil may whisper in your head, “You cannot go into God’s presence because you have not been reading your Bible and serving in church.” Or he will tell you that it is because of the sin which you have just committed. The devil will always make you feel that you are not qualified or clean enough to go near God. But the truth is, regardless of how you feel and what you have done, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. In the original Greek text, the tense for the word “cleanses” denotes a present continuous action. This means that once you are a believer, the blood of Jesus Christ keeps on cleansing you from every sin! So you can rest knowing that you are always forgiven in this continuous “wash cycle” of Jesus’ blood. Because you are continually cleansed, you are always in the light. Of course, you will fail here and there, but you are still in the light because the blood is continuously washing you! The Bible says that we overcome the devil, the accuser of our brethren, by the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 12:11) If you have sinned, remind yourself that Jesus’ blood keeps on cleansing you from every sin — 24 hours a day, seven days a week — and move on with God! The devil cannot defeat you when your faith is in the blood that cleanses you continuously. Some Christians are guilt-ridden because their consciousness of their sins condemns them. Although Jesus’ blood continuously cleanses them, they would rather hold on to their past mistakes and feel bad about them, thinking that they are being humble and holy when they do this. But this is nothing more than self-righteousness. My friend, the eternal blood of Jesus Christ offers you eternal redemption andeverlasting righteousness. Accept the payment of His blood as the final, perfect and only sacrifice you will ever need!