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Pat Yourself On The Back

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Pat yourself on the back. Have you been feeling underappreciated lately?  Does it seem that no one understands how hard you work or how much you are trying?  The feeling that no one appreciates you can be very discouraging to most people. 

We all know the power of congratulations. 

Rewarding people with our praise is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to motivate others.  Simple words of encouragement can literally change a person’s life when given at the right moment.  Saying “Good Job” or “This Looks Great” can motivate a person to want to try harder next time in order to please you, as well as give them a much needed sense of accomplishment for the hard work they have invested.

What happens though, when no one gives “You” that needed praise?  Who encourages the encourager?  Who tells the guy at the top “Good Job”?  Oftentimes, nobody does this.  Even a self-motivated person has a point where they just need to hear someone say “I appreciate what you are doing.”  So what do you do when those affirmations are few and far between?

Encourage yourself! 

David did it. 

1 Samuel 30:6And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

Maybe you’ve never had the congregation ready to stone you, (Or maybe you have…) but there have probably been many times where you wondered where even your closest followers’ devotions were.  David understood that this was one day where encouragement from the men was not going to come.  They were tired, discouraged, and let down.  He knew that there was nothing he could do or say that would cause them to appreciate all he was trying to do for them.  The only thing left for David to do was to “Encourage Himself”.  The scriptures say he “…encouraged himself in the Lord his God.”  Wouldn’t it be something if we could know exactly what he said or did to do this.  What were his words?  “Don’t worry David (to himself), God’s got your back.  You’re doing a fantastic thing for the Kingdom of God.  Don’t be discouraged, the Lord knows where you’re at right now.”  These are things we might say to another person to encourage them, so why not say them to ourselves? 

I confess, I talk to myself on occasion.  Not like a lot of people do, but rather to encourage myself.  A few years ago, I began to become very discouraged when it seemed that no one else seemed to appreciate the very hard work and tremendous accomplishment that I was experiencing.  So, I began to do something that might sound a bit strange to many people.  I began “patting myself on the back”.  Seriously, I literally patted myself on the back and said to myself, “Good job Jim.  No one else may notice what you just did, but I did and I think you did a fantastic job.”  I know that sounds odd, but I have to be honest with you, it felt good.  I said it to myself and at the same time realized that the guy saying it knew what he was talking about.  He was someone who recognized when someone did something great and he was now complementing me.  Only, me was also me, so for some that might not sound so great.

However, it was the only praise that was going to come to me that day, so if it had to come from me, I was going to accept it.

Recently, I was preaching at a crusade in West Bengal, India.  God was manifesting His Spirit in a measure that I had never seen before.  People were receiving the infilling of the Holy Spirit by the hundreds.   Incredible healings were taking place.  Demonic spirits were manifesting in some people and they were being delivered.  While I was laying hands on people to receive what they needed from God, I began to experience a tremendous muscle spasm in my neck.  These spasms are familiar to me.  I have had them for over 30 years.  They are excruciating and cause me to have a migraine headache which lasts for days.  A small muscle relaxer usually easily relieves the spasm if I can take it soon enough.  My problem was that I was in West Bengal, India and my medicine was at home in the U.S.A.  I knew that the severity of this spasm would probably not only knock me out of the remainder of the crusade, but also cause the 60 hours of travel home to be unbearable.  So what could I do?  I did the only thing there was to do, I prayed for myself.  I literally placed my hands on my neck and shoulders and began to rebuke the spasm in Jesus Name.  As I prayed, I felt something happen.  I felt a warmth and a peace come over me as the spasm completely left me.   These spasms which always cause me to be very sick when I cannot get to my medicine, was healed in seconds.

Pray for yourself. 

Lay hands on yourself and pray for yourself like you pray for others.  Should God not heal you only because you are the one praying?  I lay hands on the sick and see them recover often. Why should I have to wait for some other minister to pray for me when I have the gift of healing myself? 

Recently the Youth Pastor of our church was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease.  The glands in his neck had become very large.  They protruded noticeably to the point that most anyone could see that there was  a serious problem with him.  During a church service where we had special prayer for him a few weeks ago, I encouraged this good man to literally lay hands on himself and pray for himself that God might heal him.  He told me, “Brother Smith, I already did this the other day.  And as I did, I felt the large lumps in my neck shrink and get much smaller with my own hands.”

Sometimes you just have to do it yourself.  No one can feel the urgency like you can.  No one else knows how important the moment is for you or how much you need to hear a good word.  So you might just have to compliment yourself.  You may need to pat yourself on the back.  You may need to pray for yourself.  The point is, be sure that you stay encouraged.  Be sure that you stay blessed and healed.  Don’t do for others and let yourself become beaten down.  What you do for others, do for yourself.  Stay encouraged!