No Pity

Despite all of Joshua's hurts and struggles, I never feel sorry for him. He wouldn't want you to either. And if you claim to be a child of God, and tell me about your pain and struggles, I won't feel sorry for you either. Why would I pity what God may be doing to bring about His glory, the good of others through you, and your good? I think being faithful to your Master means helping your brothers and sisters in Christ see God in the midst of their trials and struggles. Sometimes we can pity a fellow Christian to death, and pity them right out of the will of God. It might just seem like the thing to do when someone you know is having a pity party and are trying to get you on their band wagon. Most of us fall into that because frankly we don't really know what else to do. Someone is in pain? Hey, just pray for God to remove it. They are struggling with something that makes no sense. Join in their confusion? NEVER! When are we ever going to love them enough to help them seek God's opinion about their troubles? When are we going to quit offering prayers for our fellow slaves of Christ just because God has allowed something in their life that they don't like? Why do we look at hard things as something to pray away? I love how my precious niece Casey puts it. She says she never pities someone who is hurting so bad that they are at rock bottom or close to it. She says it wasn't until she hit rock bottom and in her desperation, cried out to Jehovah God to save her. She had to come to the end of herself first. In the world's eye, horrible things in your life are just that...horrible. But God knows that it isn't until then that you finally start seeing your need for a Savior! My niece was living a self-sufficient life thinking that she could handle all of her problems by herself. The Lord knew she couldn't but in His sovereign love allowed things to get as bad as they could get. Then and only then did she, in total brokenness, reach a tiny trembling hand up to the mighty Hand of the God of this universe. She had to admit her complete failure in being a "good" person. She had to come to grips with the fact that all of her goodness was as filthy rags in the eyes of a holy God. (Isaiah 64:6) She confessed her sins and her desperate need for a Savior. That is when salvation came to Casey. Hallelujah! Oh God how I praise You for saving my beautiful niece! And I also praise You for every struggle in her life that brought her to the foot of the cross. I am thankful for every pain she endured and every single failure in life that You, by Your sovereign will allowed her to have. God had to break her all the way down before He could save her and do anything in her life. She had to admit that she didn't have it all together and was completely incapable of doing ANYTHING in her own strength. Oh how her Savior loves it when she admits her weakness. That is when King Jesus can put His glorious strength on display! (2 Cor.12:9) Then He will get all the praise and glory, as He should. Casey is a humble servant of Jesus who knows how to praise her sovereign God for whatever He allows in her life. We never have to fear being weak. All fear and doubt should be left in the past of every child of God. One of the most wonderful promises in the entire bible for a weak, struggling, fearful Christian is Isaiah 41:10.
Just because Casey is now a child of the King of kings and Lord of lords doesn't mean that her troubles are over. She has many trials and struggles. God uses these things in Casey's life to grow her closer to her Master, her heavenly Husband. He uses them to strengthen her faith. He allows her struggles to be a beautiful witness to others who are going through some of the same hardships. She can point to a Savior Who cares. She can proclaim, even through her tears, a Father Who knows her name and chose her before the foundations of the world. (Eph.1:4) She will have pain and hardships until she is called home to be with her Lord. But she can rest in the arms of her heavenly Husband right here and now. Just as you can, beloved. When she is hurting and the world seems to be throwing her curve balls left and right, she can call out "Abba Father" and He will always hear her. Psalm 56:8 shows her that our God puts all of her tears in His bottle. Psalm 9: 12-13 says that her Master and Shepherd does not forget the cry of the afflicted! And His loving eyes see everything done to her by those who want to cause her harm for her devotion to Jesus Christ! Wow, what a promise for the hurting and broken to remember. Is that you, precious one? God loves you. He sees your pain and He knows about every tear you cry. He wants to hold you close. If you've never given your life to Christ, please come to the cross. Who else has ever loved you so much that they died for you? Jesus did. Seek God, turn to Him and He will never turn you away!