Baptist City Blog

He Lifted Himself

John 8:7

"So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

Place yourself in Jesus' shoes as He heard the Pharisees accuse this woman of adultery. They kept pushing Him to condemn this woman to death, but He would not lower Himself to their level. However, can you imagine how tiring it was to constantly put up with the harassment of the Pharisees? Yet, you never see Jesus' spirit get down. Instead, He stayed on top side throughout His life and ministry. You ask how He was able to do this? The answer is in the phrase from the verse above, "...he lifted himself,..." Jesus didn't wait for the circumstances to get better. He knew how to lift Himself when the circumstances wouldn't lift Him.

Every once in awhile I preach to a congregation of people to whom it is not easy to preach. When I preach to a congregation like this, I find myself having to look for another source to lift my spirit during the sermon. The people and circumstances won't lift me, so I must learn to lift myself so I can help the people.

The night that my mother went to Heaven was one of those nights. It was not the crowd who was hard to preach to, but it was dealing with my own spirit and the loss of my mother that I had to manage. Once I got through the initial shock of my mother passing, I went through my routine that I go through when I have to lift my own spirit. By the time I stood to preach, God's grace worked through my routine to lift my spirit so I could help those people.

Christian, circumstances are not always going to be right to keep your spirit on top side. There will be times in your life when you are going to have to lift yourself up just like Jesus did. When trials come your way, you will face days that you will have to lift yourself up so that you can still be a help to others. When you face attack from enemies and friends alike, you will need to learn how to lift yourself up. If you depend on circumstances to lift your spirit, then you will find your spirit will be like a temperature gauge: constantly going up and down.

One thing I have learned that lifts my spirit is good Christian music. Music plays an important role in your life. I have learned what songs or groups lift me up, so when I need to manually lift my spirit, I listen to them. I also have a couple of people to call when I need to get my spirit lifted. Though they do not know why I am calling, I know that every time I talk to them I feel better after I hang up the phone. These are just a couple of things that I do to lift my own spirit when the circumstances won't lift it.

Learn to study yourself. When you find something that makes you feel better, then write it down and use it again when you have to lift yourself. If it worked one time, it will work again. Those who seem to always have a good spirit don't always have everything go their way, but they have learned how to lift their own spirit so they can be a blessing to others. Be that rare individual who knows how to lift yourself up when nothing else will. You will find that if you can lift yourself despite your circumstances, then you will become one whom people will want to be around, because you will brighten their day as well.