I “stole” part of this post from The Sweetheart! He taught last week when we were in Georgia and mentioned the fact that God didn’t show up to his party. Find out what kind of party we are talking about today!
I love parties.
- Birthdays
- Anniversaries
- Graduations
- Job promotions
- Bon voyage parties
- Super Bowl parties
- Baby gender reveal parties!
The list could go on and on. We love to celebrate just about anything and hold nothing back when we get together to par-tay!
I had a party recently and invited everyone around me. I even invited God. It seemed all of my friends had plans; God didn’t show up either. He didn’t even send a “Respondez, s’il vous plait”!
I was hurt, disappointed and confused. Didn’t God want to join me?
Gideon also wanted to have God join him at his party.
“And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!'” Judges 6:12.
A man of valor is one who has great courage in the face of danger, especially in battle. Gideon may not have thought he possessed this impressive trait but he was about to find out that with God he was unbeatable.
“Gideon said to Him, ‘O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.'”
Gideon was unsure of himself and his situation. His army was facing an attack from the Midianites and Gideon did not think they were able to conquer this enemy. He was so distressed about it that he even felt like everything he had heard his entire life was just a fairy tale. “Where are all the miracles I have heard about since I was a child? Have we now been forsaken?”
This lets us know that there are still going to be times that we may question: “Where is God?” Or more precisely, “Does He even realize where I am?!”
God, if You are with us…then why?
The reality is there are going to be some tough days ahead. There are going to be some struggles in our flesh. We are going to deal with afflictions and sickness. Our accounts are going to get pretty low, perhaps even red. There will be days that the heavens will seem locked up. We will mimic the cry of Gideon. “God, if it was really you, then why?”
Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”
I can imagine the Lord was patient with Gideon. He knew his shortcomings, yet He was confident in Gideon’s ability…if he would go in the name of his God. The angel of the Lord didn’t feel sorry for Gideon. He didn’t join with him in his doubt or lack of confidence.
“So he said to Him, ‘O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the
weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.'”
The first pep talk wasn’t enough for Gideon. The angel of the Lord called him a mighty man of valor, complimenting him on his bravery! But Gideon still wasn’t convinced. He mentions his shortcomings and his family’s pedigree. And like we do, he comes up with excuses.
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I’m not a minister.
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My father wasn’t a missionary or even a minister.
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I don’t have a degree in theology.
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How can you possibly mean me?
But instead of joining in with him, God refuses to come to Gideon’s Pity Party.
And He won’t come to mine either.
God simply reminds Gideon of the mission…and the fact that it isn’t about him…it is about HIM!
Just as Gideon was finding out through his interaction…we must be filled by God in order to accomplish what He desires to work through us! He would equip him, all Gideon had to do was Go.
It is the same for us today. Jesus will not leave us without the tools we need to accomplish His will. But self-pity is downright destructive and will leave us alone and frustrated. No one wants to be around someone who feels sorry for themselves and blames everyone around them for their troubles.
If you have compassion, or pity, for others you show them love or help them in their time of need. But if you turn that pity on yourself, feeling “Woe is me” all of the time, then no one wants to be around you. You are not doing anything to help yourself or fix your problem!
He wants us to put our trust in Him, in His Word and go in the confidence of the Holy Spirit. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Roman 8:37 NIV.
Are you feeling sorry for yourself today? It is natural, friend. We are human.
Maybe you feel it is justified because LIFE is just overwhelming right now. Nothing is your fault; circumstances just keep piling up and it seems as if all of heaven is against you.
What can you do?
First. Put your confidence in the One who is in control. Let Him handle your worries, your fears; give Him your doubts!
Then Pour yourself into His Word…there are promises in there! Cling to them; make them your own.
Pray. Yes, pray and then pray some more. The more you talk to the Lord the more you will understand His ways, be able to hear His voice and become more like Him. “But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit…” Jude 1:10 NLT.
We aren’t in despair, we are a people blessed with Hope. A hope that never fades but keeps us every single day, no matter what comes our direction. He never leaves us comfortless…He sent the Holy Spirit for that reason. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever…” John 14:16.
Before you know it, you will change that invitation from Pity Party to Praise Party…I promise Jesus will show up at that one.
Blessings, friends.
Sharing with Making your home sing, Amaze Me Monday, Motivation Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Living Proverbs 31, Modest Monday, Monday Musings, Mama Moments
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I agree with that thought…pity towards others is not always good, or we can especially overdo it. Thank you so much for stopping by!
It is a good thing He is relentless and full of Grace! Amen! Blessings, friend. ♥
Thank you, Naomi…so happy to have you here! Love your thought, “Faith in who He is will always beat out our self pity…” So true! Blessings ♥
Thank you so much for stopping by. It is easy to be overwhelmed and have our own pity party. I am usually writing to myself ha.
Love it!! I’m not the only one!
very true brittany!
this is great! I think we need to be careful about pity towards others sometimes too. Sometimes that can be destructive as well! THanks for the ideas!
It’s a good thing God doesn’t mind reminding us, because we tend to not believe what He said about us as His children when we first hear it. Sometimes we get stuck in what we think we know and it takes a long time. Good thing He’s relentless and full of Grace. Haven’t heard from you in a while. Hope you’re doing well!!
Nanette…I enjoyed your post greatly. How easy it is for us pity ourselves and situations however it is better to know that God never forakes us. Faith in who He is will always beat out our self pity if we grab a hold of it. Thank you for sharing this at Monday’s Musings. Blessings.
Great encouragement! It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with life and focus only on ourselves and our problems. Good reminder to give it to God and do what He instructs us to do. Thanks for linking up to Motivational Monday!
My computer flinched! This was supposed to go on your other post. I’ll repost it there. Feel free to delete this comment and reply if you want.
Glitches…grrr.
Yes we do Brittany! Thank you for taking the time to comment today. Bless you!
Wonderful insights! Thank you so much for sharing. So thankful for God’s chastisement…I know He loves us!
I love how honest Gideon is with his predicament and feelings towards God. He knows better than to beat around the bush. He is very human, we can all relate to his cries. And I love how God did not spoil or give in to his “tantrums”. God disciplined Him well and in the end proved to him that his worries are useless. Because God always has and always will have his back.
lol. Good take on it! We get a lot farther when we make God the focus, not ourselves, don’t we?
Lol, you are invited! Anytime. I hope I haven’t offended anyone who is going through something difficult…I understand those times are hard and sometimes cause us to question our circumstances. It is hard to have faith in the unseen but when we do, He is always faithful. Much love!
This is such a relevant post, Nannette, for anyone who’s experienced loss or lack in life for any amount of time. It’s so hard to keep believing God is aware of our struggles when we don’t see anything with our physical eyes. I keep trying to remind myself to have faith in God’s “unseen” workings. But I would come to any par-tay you’re having, my friend! Just let me know when and where and I’ll be there! 🙂