A HOPE-FILLED YEAR
Following on from the last post, a little more on the destructiveness of self-pity…..
We all have experienced situations which hurt & disappoint us, and been wounded by people who fall short of our expectations. We have all felt discouraged at times by our own mistakes & failures, and often carry past hurts which periodically still swamp us. This is life – the result of living in a fallen world.
Unfortunately our reactions to the stuff of life often result self-pity. How easy it is, at those times, to tell our story to others to elicit their outrage or sympathy. And so this unchecked self-pity leads to a perception of the self as a victim, which in turn negatively feeds our sense of identity, leading to depression or even despair. Self-pity is the thief of hope.
To be free we have to lay down our ‘right’ to a pity-party. This is not always easy.
STEPS TO FREEDOM
1.) When someone sins against us, there is a debt involved – they owe us. Unforgiveness holds on to that debt & insists they ‘pay’, either in reparation or in punishment. The Greek word for ‘forgiveness’ in the New Testament, has the meaning of ‘sending away’ or ‘giving up a debt’. We need to forgive the people involved and release them from their ‘debt’. (We know we have done this when we can pray for the Lord's blessing on the people concerned.)
I appreciate there are those who have suffered grievous injury and trauma, & need help from an experienced Spirit-filled counsellor. If that is you, please seek help: Bethel Sozo UK is one place to start: http://www.bethelsozo.org.uk/ . (‘Sozo’ is the Greek word often translated ‘salvation’, which includes mental, emotional & spiritual healing.)
2.) We then need to ask the Lord to release His healing power into the situation, and to heal our wounds. Take time to listen to Him & ask Him what He thinks about it all. (If you’re not sure how to do this, watch the video in the last post but one.)
3.) Choose to believe that ‘in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose’ [Romans 8:28]. Start to thank Him for working this particular situation for your good.
If you don’t deal with self-pity when it arises, victimhood becomes part of your identity. Eleanor Roosevelt said, ‘No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.’ Likewise, nothing can give you a victim-identity unless you let it.
We can live permanently in reaction or we can be people who take action; people who refuse to feel sorry for themselves, who refuse a victim mentality, and refuse to look for sympathy or outrage in others. People who resolve to live free.
Are you feeling sorry for yourself? Take action today!
We all have experienced situations which hurt & disappoint us, and been wounded by people who fall short of our expectations. We have all felt discouraged at times by our own mistakes & failures, and often carry past hurts which periodically still swamp us. This is life – the result of living in a fallen world.
Unfortunately our reactions to the stuff of life often result self-pity. How easy it is, at those times, to tell our story to others to elicit their outrage or sympathy. And so this unchecked self-pity leads to a perception of the self as a victim, which in turn negatively feeds our sense of identity, leading to depression or even despair. Self-pity is the thief of hope.
To be free we have to lay down our ‘right’ to a pity-party. This is not always easy.
STEPS TO FREEDOM
1.) When someone sins against us, there is a debt involved – they owe us. Unforgiveness holds on to that debt & insists they ‘pay’, either in reparation or in punishment. The Greek word for ‘forgiveness’ in the New Testament, has the meaning of ‘sending away’ or ‘giving up a debt’. We need to forgive the people involved and release them from their ‘debt’. (We know we have done this when we can pray for the Lord's blessing on the people concerned.)
I appreciate there are those who have suffered grievous injury and trauma, & need help from an experienced Spirit-filled counsellor. If that is you, please seek help: Bethel Sozo UK is one place to start: http://www.bethelsozo.org.uk/ . (‘Sozo’ is the Greek word often translated ‘salvation’, which includes mental, emotional & spiritual healing.)
2.) We then need to ask the Lord to release His healing power into the situation, and to heal our wounds. Take time to listen to Him & ask Him what He thinks about it all. (If you’re not sure how to do this, watch the video in the last post but one.)
3.) Choose to believe that ‘in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose’ [Romans 8:28]. Start to thank Him for working this particular situation for your good.
If you don’t deal with self-pity when it arises, victimhood becomes part of your identity. Eleanor Roosevelt said, ‘No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.’ Likewise, nothing can give you a victim-identity unless you let it.
We can live permanently in reaction or we can be people who take action; people who refuse to feel sorry for themselves, who refuse a victim mentality, and refuse to look for sympathy or outrage in others. People who resolve to live free.
Are you feeling sorry for yourself? Take action today!
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- please do, I love hearing from people......
Others like the facility to publicly comment under posts, so the public comment option is also available (bottom left).
- please feel free to add your thoughts
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