Overcoming

     The Lord has been working with me dealing with an attitude I've carried since childhood. I am a happy, optimistic person but I can easily slip into "self-pity" when things aren't going right. I have been fighting this spirit for a while but its stronghold was built many years ago when I was a small child wanting to run away from home.
     Now I am working to break away all of those self-pity patterns of thought. Patterns of thought can be difficult to change, but it can be done! He has shown me the way to change my thoughts is to replace self-pity with an attitude of thankfulness. You can't carry both attitudes, self-pity is the opposite of thankfulness, so you can see it's impossible to have both at the same time. In the same situation where you can find things to feel sorry for yourself over, there are always things you can find to be thankful for.
     Example:

• You have a flat tire, do you have a spare? Thank You, Lord, for this spare tire!
• Are you sick? Thank You, Lord, that we live in a country with drugstores, medicine, and doctors!
• Are you too busy? Thank You, Lord, that You have given me things to accomplish!
• Too many bills? Thank You, Lord, You have given me wisdom to separate wants from needs and You provide for all of my needs!

     These are just examples, I'm sure there are more that we could come up with, but you can read these and get the idea.
     Remember that the Lord does not appreciate grumbling and self-pity does lead to grumbling! If you have this stronghold in your life, please join me in purposing to be rid of it, it does not look good on us and it certainly doesn't please the Lord or bring glory to Him.

 Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:9-13