The Lord never cuts me any slack. The day got off to a poor start not long after I got out of bed, and by the time I was in the kitchen cooking breakfast, I was in the middle of a pretty good "feeling sorry for myself" morning. I glanced over at my Chuck Swindoll perpetual calendar, and noticed I was a couple of pages behind...so I flipped to the right day, and...Boom!

 

        "Self-pity is the smog that pollutes and obscures the light of the Son. The more you're in it, the deeper it hurts. The more your eyes shed tears, the greater the sting of loneliness."

 

    Taken from his book Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, the words hit me straight between my teary eyes.

 

    I know better than to fall into the self-pity trip. My mind knows better, my heart knows better, but that day it was one of those Romans 7:15 things.

   

    Later in the day, I was reminded by the Lord, through a book I received in the mail (which, by the way, is available on Amazon.com) from a long lost friend, that "That 'someday' when there will only be calmness, peace and no worries, is not going to come."-Proverbs for the Family by Lynda Savage.

 

    I spent most of the day talking to the Lord and asking for His help in getting through and over this pity about my circumstances. As usual, He was and is ready, willing and able to go through our trying days with us.

 

    Some suggestions on how to get through these days are:  Prayer, and lots of it. Talk it all out and through with the Lord. Not only is He a good listener, He has some great suggestions, and His arms are open wide to give the comfort and shoulder you need.

 

    Listening to praise and worship music also helps. It gets our focus off of ourselves and on to God. In addition to listening to it, sing it yourself. If you can't sing it out loud- sing it to yourself. The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). In our praise, His presence is with us, empowering us to be victorious, even on one of "those days".

 

    And most importantly (and I think this was my particular problem) stay in the Word of God!  Keith Gillentine sang a song Sunday, "Doesn't Anybody Read the Bible Anymore?"  That is the key. I can sure tell when I haven't spent my time in God's word. Things just don't go right. Everything is off. That is because we need the truth of God's Word to counteract all of the "stuff" in the world and the lies that the enemy constantly tries to get us to believe. The more of the Truth (God's Word) you receive and have within you, the easier it is to recognize and reject the lies and half-truths that the enemy of our souls would like us to fall for.

 

    So, I'm glad that the Lord doesn't cut me any slack. He cares enough about me to correct me from engaging in behaviors and thought patterns that are destructive to me and our relationship. He continues to remind me that it is not about me, but rather it is about Him, and what He would like to do in and through me.

 

    I know God will continue not to cut me too much slack, because I would just grow up to be a bratty kid... and who wants to be a bratty kid of the King?

 

    As always, remember you are loved. And any comments/questions are welcomed to: ann@datilbaptistchurch.com