I was sitting on my front porch the other day, minding my own business. There I was as happy as I could be. Rejoice and Glory was sitting there with me. It was just us three. We were worshiping God and praising Him. We were just basking in his magnificence and thinking about his awesomeness.
I got up to get a glass of water. When I came back to the porch, Rejoice and Glory was gone and who had taken their places, was Pity and Misery. Yes, those two muckety-mucks were there! Those two self-importance, greeted me with a smirk on their faces. What a sad combination! There was Pity, oozing with sorrow, with eyes of suffering. A tongue full of misfortunes. Ears filled with depression. He had a smell of sadness, with a head full of anger, just sitting there crying in shame.
Diagonally from him was Ms. Misery, herself. She was dressed to the nines. Her hat was decorated in agony and pain. Her dress was full of despair, that had an overlay of heartache. Her shoes were shining with a slight hue of torment with its three inch heels of low spirits. Her purse was full of deprivation, affliction, torture, anxiety, and desolation. She was sitting there beaming in melancholy, while softly whispering the blues. I believe that song sounds like The Melancholy Blues. You know Misery loves company!
They are just sitting there waiting for me to strike up a conversation with them, but I tell myself not today. They are doing everything possible to get my attention, but seriously, not today. I decided that I would go back into the house and leave those to losers outside. I got up, opened the door and closed it with a swiftness. I put all three locks on the door and walked away from it. I could hear them shouting my name as they beat on the door. The further I walked, the less I could hear them. By the time I reached the stairs, I was met by Rejoice and Glory again.
I began to rejoice and glorify God for his goodness and his mercy. For his grace towards me. For being such a wonderful and loving God. The next thing I knew, I had a full choir going on and a praise team. Happiness showed up, then Happiness invited Joy over. Joy called Delight. Delight brought Cheer and Jubilation. We were celebrating Jesus with merrymaking and acclamation, being full of inspiration.
So, the next time your uninvited guests show up at your home (in your life), please let them know that they are not welcome. Please don’t let them in. Shut your door (your ears), lock your windows (your eyes), and close your blinds (your mind). Tape up your peephole as well. All they need is a foothold and they will be in. Ephesians 4:27 says, “….for anger gives a foothold to the devil.”
Pity and Misery are negative emotions. Negative emotions will fester in our hearts. When this happens, we give Satan power. Thus, giving him the opportunity to establish a foothold in our lives. When we allow those feelings to fester, Satan is no longer the passenger, he is now the driver. You can’t allow him in, not even in a little part of your life. He is greedy, he doesn’t want a little part of you. He wants all of you. Once he has your mind, he has you. The foothold will turn into a stronghold. Once he gets deep enough into your life, that makes it harder for you to take back control of your life.
Any negative emotion is bad for you. If you fill your life with resentment or hate, Satan has gained a foothold. If you are full of guilt and shame, he has gained a foothold. If you are drowning in self-pity and misery, he has gained a foothold.
You need to snatch your life back. How do you do that? It’s house cleaning time! Kick-out all things “negative”. Negative and positive cannot reside in the same house. The house is your “mind”. You must replace every negative thought with a positive thought. Once you invite the Holy Spirit into your life, He will help you with that. Jesus and Satan cannot dwell in the same place. It’s one or the other. Only you can make that choice. It’s your choice. So you chose!