In today's society, it is so easy to feel sorry for yourself.
I mean, you have a bad day, and you are surrounded by people who seem to have everything figured out and in perfect order, and then there's you. Poor, helpless you. Nothing was going right all day, or so it seemed, and then when you're all alone, you really begin to ponder how sad, pitiful, and hard your life has been. You think about everything that has ever gone wrong in your life, and how no one will ever know the pain you have been through.
I cannot begin to tell you how many times I used to come home and think, "Woe is me..."
I began thinking about how we tend to have so much pity for ourselves. I thought about how we compare our sob stories to those of others, and how ignorant that was. I feel as though everyone at some point has thought, "God, why me?"
As if we should have the audacity to ask such a selfish question.
After I realized how selfish this question was, I began wondering what exactly we expect God to respond with. Maybe a, "you're right, I'm wrong"? Or, "sorry, wrong human"?
The fact of the matter is that God does not owe us anything. We are sinners through and through, yet He graciously offers us mercy, forgiveness, redemption, and new life. He had full knowledge that we were going to screw up time and time again, yet He still chose to allow His only Son to walk among us. He allowed His son to take the beatings and humiliation that we so rightfully deserve.
In the Bible, Job loses everything. He was a righteous man of God, so that helped him to keep his cool at first. Job 3:24-26 begins to paint us a different picture, though, when he is confronting all of the bad things that have happened. He says, "For I cry inside myself in front of my food. My cries pour out like water. What I was afraid of has come upon me. What filled me with fear has happened. I am not at rest, and I am not quiet. I have no rest, but only trouble.”
Eliphaz tries to confront him with beautiful words that I encourage you to sit down and read. The part that stuck out to me, though, was Job 5:8-12.
"But as for me, I would look to God. I would put my troubles before God. He does great things, too great for us to understand. He does too many wonderful things for us to number. He gives rain on the earth and sends water on the fields. He puts those who are in low places up to high places. Those who are filled with sorrow are lifted to where they are safe. He troubles the plans of those who try to fool people, so that their hands cannot do what they plan."
God is not out to get us. He is not trying to punish us when we receive a bad test grade, or when our tire is flat and we're already running late to work. Perhaps the reason why things do not always go our way is because of our own carelessness. At some point, you have to take responsibility for yourself and realize that you made a mistake, but that you're only human. We are sinners who have been forgiven time and time again, so why should we not have bad days sometimes? The verse below always helps me to stay humble, hopeful, and mindful of the glory that is to come.
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
1 Peter 5:10
