Do you ever feel sorry for yourself? I do. I mean, I feel
sorry for myself, not for you. From my angle,
everything seems to go well for you. Well, at least
compared to me.
Sometimes, nothing seems
to go my way. That’s when
I’ll throw a pity party. I like to send myself an engraved
invitation, so it’s official. And I usually don’t invite
anyone except me, myself and I . . . and maybe a spoon
and a pint of ice cream. Funny, how during those times
when I want to be alone at my pity party, a party crasher
usually comes — a party crasher called God’s truth.
Confrontation
Just the other day I was enjoying my party, my ice
cream and my sad thoughts — until I ran smack dab
into the reality of God’s truth. There I was, walking
around my room, listening to pitiful music, feeling sorry
for myself and then wham! It’s like I hit my head
on a huge chunk of God’s truth — that often happens
when I read the Bible!
I’ve noticed that the truth of God can do that — sort of
bowl me over when I least expect it. But sometimes
when I’m not paying attention — when my focus is off
Him and on me — God has a way of getting my
attention.
This truth reminds me that when I look at my life and
see things not going according to my agenda or my
plan, it’s OK. God has a plan and a purpose for
everything that happens to me. And if I get quiet and
listen to His voice in these moments, I can hear Him say
that even through my deepest hurts and struggles, He’s
there. And He allows me to experience such
heartaches as a way of calling me into fellowship with
Him. Get the scoop for yourself from 2 Corinthians
4:17.
He Paid a Lot for You!
Oswald Chambers, one of my favorite devotional
writers, says, “[God] comes with the grip of the pierced
hand of His Son and says, ‘Enter into fellowship with
Me; arise and shine.’ If through a broken heart God can
bring His purposes to pass in the world, then thank Him
for breaking your heart.”
That’s usually when my negative, sorry, Oh, why
me? attitude turns into an awestruck, grateful,
Oh, why me? response. As in, “Why would You love
me so and want to use me? How blessed
am I!” That’s when I can hear the Lord say, “Because
you were bought with a price. You are not your own.”
When you love God and have a relationship with Him,
you can trust He has a purpose for even the smallest
hardships in your life, and He intends to redeem every
one if you surrender them to Him. What an amazing
joyful truth that should be celebrated. In fact, that’s a
party you could really throw yourself into.
