THROWING A PITY PARTY
"What has happened before will happen again. What has been done before will be done again. There is nothing new in the whole world." says Ecclesiastes 1:9. Whatever you're passing through right now, it is not new under heaven - someone has passed through it before. There is no one on earth without a problem. But we often like to think that our challenge or problem is bigger than everyone else's because we want to be pitied; so the usual first response from some Christians when faced with a challenge they've never experienced before is to withdraw from all spiritual engagements and exercises with other believers. They stop going to church; they stop fellowshipping with other brethren, because we often think we need time alone to solve our problem. But sadly, we're mistaken, because it's just the tactic of the devil to seclude us so he can work on us for destruction; for when the devil targets a particular Christian, most times a fervent Christian, to destroy or pull him or her down, he first isolates them and pulls them out of all spiritual coverings and then pounce on them. So you may think you need time alone to tackle the problem, but it is not so - you're being deceived by the Great Deceiver –the Devil.
Many times when people are challenged, especially those whose faith in Christ has not solidly been established, as they withdraw from church and fellowship with other brethren, the willingness and the zeal to pray and engage in spiritual activities suddenly disappears. You'll immediately become weak and lack interest in praying and studying the Bible, why? The devil isolates you so he can have your full attention to speak to you. So he begins to whisper words of discouragement into your ears, and gradually you begin to sink deep into the ocean of worry, anxiety, hopelessness and depression, which will in turn affect your health negatively - you become sick, lose weight, lose joy and enthusiasm to do anything. Two prominent things usually happen: thoughts of suicide begins to cross your mind and you want to die because you're tired of life; or you begin to harbor anger and bitterness against God because the devil has convinced you to believe that God is not being fair to you, that God is behind your calamity or challenge, and that God does not really care about you, so you abandon your faith in God, backslide or lose all interest in the things of God.
But what you really need at such time is to be in the company of believers - a community of believers to pray with and face that challenge together. Ecclesiastes 4:9 buttresses this truth by saying “Two are better off than one, because together they can work more effectively.” This is true because when you're in the midst of other brethren, their spiritual strength will rub off on you, you’ll catch the fire they carry, and immediately you can pray, you can battle, you are strong to overcome whatever challenge is facing you. You'll be able to share your struggles with them and pray together- addressing that challenge; miraculously, you'll begin to see that challenge that has held you down for long melting away. Glory to Jesus!
So when challenged, it is not a time to throw pity party (as many people usually do), or begin looking for sympathy – trying to make people have a glimpse of, an understanding of, a feeling of, or an experience of what you're passing through. Consequently, if those around you do not show much concern as you expect them to show, you begin to think they do not love you. Beloved, every single one of your friends or believers in church or fellowship has a challenge they're also facing. So they'll show care and love to you, but they likely will not carry your problem on their head because they already have their own problem on their head. That they don’t tell you about their struggles or challenge does not indicate that they have no challenge; rather, some of them have learnt to be at peace in the midst of a raging storm. They have built their faith in Christ to the level where they never allow any problem weigh them down or keep them away from the presence of God; they always simply take the problem to Jesus and leave it all to Him to handle. Why? Only Jesus is our Burden-bearer. Only Jesus is without a problem. So He can handle any problem you bring to Him and leave to Him, that is why we all must have a personal relationship with Him and go to Him in such moments.
You overcome life challenges by burying yourself in the presence of God, not by burying yourself in the challenge. When you're challenged, it is the time to get closer to God, to engage more in spiritual activities like praying, fasting, speaking in tongues, reading the word of God to know what God says on how to overcome the challenge in front of you. It is the time to fellowship more with other brethren and engage in soul winning. It may be difficult at such times, but that is where your victory lies; it lies not in isolation, nor in throwing pity parties.
Let the word of God in Psalm 55:22 comfort you: "Turn your burdens over to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will never let the righteous person stumble." And let Philippians 4:6-7 strengthen you, it says "Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel."
RETURN TO GOD.
RETURN TO THE COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS.
God bless you.
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