"I pray that You now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to You and my fellows."
Self-pity can be sneaky. It doesn't always sound like, "Poor me." Sometimes it sounds like, "Does this always happen to me?" "Nobody understands." "I just can't catch a break." Before long, we've built a whole story in our minds, and we believe every word of it.
Our alcoholism can take one disappointment and distort it into proof that nothing ever goes our way. Before we know it, we're convinced we're alone, forgotten, or somehow getting a worse deal than everyone else. That's when it's time to stop, ask God to remove our shortcomings, and let Him help us see the situation a little differently.
The problem isn't always the situation. A lot of times it's the way we're seeing it.
When we catch ourselves headed down that road, maybe we don't have to argue with our thinking. We can simply stop, admit that we're powerless over where our minds are taking us, and ask God to remove the shortcomings that are keeping us stuck. Then we can look for one thing to be grateful for, one person we can help, or one small way to be useful today.
It's amazing how quickly our perspective can change when we stop asking, "Why is this happening to me?" and start asking, "How can I be useful today?"
What's one situation where self-pity may be affecting the way you're seeing things today?
