Poor Me! Намуна

Shut Down the Pity Party

If you’ve been alive longer than 15 minutes, you’ve probably had something horrible happen to you. It might be happening to you right now.  

And I’m sorry. I wish bad things didn’t happen, and I wish it hadn’t happened to you. Part of me wants to wrap you in cotton and bubble wrap and keep you safe in a closet so nothing else can hurt you.

But really—what kind of life is that? 

No, as long as you’re alive on this planet, there are going to be troubles and trials and bumps and bruises. Even Jesus told us, “In the world you will have tribulation…” (John 16:33). He knew you’d face tough times—none of it catches Him by surprise. But thankfully, He followed that statement up with, “…but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” That’s good news! He’s made a way out for you.

It’s easy, though, to feel sorry for ourselves in the midst of everything, isn’t it? In fact, self-pity can be our automatic reaction to trouble unless we know how to recognize and stop it. “Poor me!” can easily become our habitual thought, and once we’re having a pity party, it’s hard to rise up and take hold of God’s promises. Instead we just want to get back into bed and pull the covers up over our head! But that’s not doing you—or anyone else—any good.

Here’s what I’ve learned: I can’t have faith and self-pity at the same time. So it’s time to shut down the pity party and rise up in faith! Because faith is what we need in order to come out the other side of any trouble (1 John 5:4).