There are times when I struggle with keeping the right perspective, and occasionally I find myself throwing a “Pity Party” for none other than--yours truly. The urban dictionary defines a Pity Party as: “A way of experiencing grief, in which you spend your time feeling sorry for yourself and whining endlessly about how crappy your life is.” (And yes, I just quoted the urban dictionary!) Even just yesterday, I found myself enjoying a wonderful little pity party. It all started when I began to think about myself and dwell on the things that I don’t understand in my life. I was so consumed with dwelling on myself that there was not much space left in my thoughts for anyone else. But then, as He normally does, Jesus so graciously crashed my Pity Party. This time, it was in the form of Psalm 16:11:
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
When I thought of this verse, I was filled with inexplicable worship for my King. I knew that opposed to my prior worries about my life, this verse IS the truth. It IS true that God is making known to me the path he has for my life. It IS true that I can have FULLNESS of joy in His presence AND, it IS true that I will be able to enjoy Him forever. Wow! Forget the pity party and give me Jesus!
Another thing, I was so overcome with during this encounter with Jesus was His unending Grace and Faithfulness towards me. This was not the first “pity party” I’d ever thrown for myself and this was certainly not the first time God had countered my self-absorption with truth about who He is. Once again, He’d shown me that worshipping Him in Spirit and in Truth can always trump a bad mood or a skewed perspective in life. God is so Faithful to continually remind me of His Goodness! And not only does He continually remind us of His Goodness but He showers us with good things. Friends, let's take a minute to think of anything good that's ever happened in our lives, well, everything coming to mind right now has come to us from the Lord! Like the Psalmist says in Psalm 16:1:
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”
So, whether or not life is turning out the way we want it to... We do have all the good we could ever need, because we have Jesus and His promises are GOOD!
I'm so thankful for a God that doesn't let me wallow in self-pity but instead, brings me into His presence so I can experience fullness of joy while worshipping my saviour! Thanks Jesus!
Going green,
Abby
P.S. By the way, how fitting is it that I post a GREEN-Light entry on the "green-est" holiday of the year!
Happy St. Patrick's Day, Ladies! :)
March 23, 2011 at 2:31 PM
Abby, I learn so much from your worshipful heart each time you share it! It's true...when we look to him, we are helped. Every. Time.