Luke 22:31-32
“Simon, stay on your toes. Satan
has tried his best to separate all of you from me, like chaff from
wheat. Simon, I’ve prayed for you in particular that you not give in or
give out. When you have come through the time of testing, turn to your
companions and give them a fresh start.”
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
Yesterday, three-year-old
Nathan came to me and said, “I’m thirsty.” “I’ll get you something in a
minute,” I told him. “But I’m THIRSTY!” he wailed. He gave me his
most pitiful pouting lip, big crocodile tears, and the repetitive “fit”
of a toddler as he pled his case. Patience is not the strong suit of
three-year-olds! The other day as I told Nathan “no” about something,
he muttered, “You don’t like me…you don’t love me anymore.” Oh, the
pity parties children can throw!
My passage from Jesus Calling*
this morning was about self-pity. It said in part, “When you are weary
or unwell, this demonic trap is the greatest danger you face.” WOW!
This echoed in my head as I read the words of Jesus…”Satan has tried his
best to separate all of you from me…” In recent months, I feel like
Satan has tried very hard to separate Greg and me from Jesus. He has
pretty well “thrown the book at us” with the sudden deaths of Greg’s
brother and my mother…an upper respiratory virus that sapped our health
and strength for a few weeks during all of this turmoil…the general
stresses and energy drains of the holidays…and more. It would be so
easy to stay in bed, pull the covers over our heads, and let the world
pass us by as we feel so very sorry for ourselves and all that has
befallen us. But then the devil would win…and we simply cannot have
that!
I was reminded in Jesus Calling that “…the closer you live
to Me, the more distance there is between you and the pit.” In this
passage from Luke, we hear Jesus tell Simon that HE has prayed for him.
Can you imagine it…Jesus praying for us?! That took my breath!
With this in mind, how could we possibly cave in and succumb to the
devil’s insistence that all is lost? Do you see how important it is
that we turn to Jesus and focus on Him rather than on our situation? If
He is praying for us, how on earth can we possibly continue to wallow in self-pity?
There
is an old song called “Pick Yourself Up**” – written by Jerome Kern and
Dorothy Fields 1936 for the movie “Swing Time.” One phrase says:
“Nothing's impossible, I have found
For when my chin is on the ground.
I pick myself up, dust myself off
And start all over again.”
This
is exactly what Jesus is commanding us to do. We are not to give the
devil any satisfaction. We are to recognize that Jesus is fighting for
us…petitioning God on our behalf…guiding and caring for us through His
Holy Spirit. We are to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, start
over…and help others do the same.
We are not self-absorbed
three-year-olds…and we should not act like them. Regardless of how
badly we want to stomp our feet, stick out our lower lip and throw a
fit…this is not what those who trust in Jesus do when the chips are
down! The choice is ours completely…but to choose to spend even a
little while in self-pity doesn’t seem like a viable option to me. What
about you?
©2016 Debbie Robus
*www.jesuscalling.com
**©Copyright 1936 T.B. Harms & Company Incorporated
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