“At times the world may seem an unfriendly and sinister place, but believe that there is much more good in it than bad. All you have to do is look hard enough, and what might seem to be a series of unfortunate events may in fact be the first steps of a journey.”
Lemony Snicket, A Very Bad Beginning
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
Yesterday seemed like a Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events kind of day. Actually, the last few weeks sometimes have felt that way. There were little sparks of joy along the way, like selling my old car for a good price, but it seemed like every time there was a spark of joy it was followed by another “unfortunate event.”
It reminded me of Elijah after the standoff with the prophets of Baal. He won in a great show of power from God above, but when Jezebel threatened his life, he went on the run into the wilderness. He sat down in a bout of self-pity and exhaustion.
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers….9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
1 Kings 19:4, 9
We often read this passage and marvel at how someone could go from triumphant to depressed in such a short time. Truth be told, we are probably all guilty of this. The minute we gain some ground for God, the enemy is there to try and snatch it away, just like Jezebel.
However, God is much more compassionate than we are to our fellow humans. Instead of reprimanding him, God sent an angel to feed him, give him something to drink, and watched over him while he slept. Then, he simply asked Elijah what he was doing out in the wilderness. Elijah made his complaint, and God showed himself to Elijah. Then, He gave him new orders.
When it feels like our lives are just a series of unfortunate events, we can rest assured that God has not forgotten us, and He is compassionate. God can take all of these events and use them for His glory. It’s okay to whine a little when things get us down, but a good night’s sleep, a good meal, and some time with the Lord should set us right. Then, we need to move forward as God gives us new marching orders.
My church just finished a series of revival services, and we left feeling renewed and focused on moving forward for the kingdom of God. Then, Thursday happened and a series of relatively minor, yet highly aggravating events sent me into a woe is me kind of attitude. But, I went to bed and got up this morning determined not to let the enemy keep me from being obedient. Is it easy? No. It’s not. I had to give myself a pep talk to just get out of bed and get started, but once you take that first step God will go with you.
Besides, who knows what those aggravating incidents protected me from? It could have been worse, a lot worse. So, let us not grow weary in well-doing, even when the whole world seems to determined to go against us, because we do it for Christ who gave everything for us. And when you are tempted to keep whining, start making a list of things you have to be grateful for and the setbacks and inconveniences will fall into perspective. I have far more to be grateful for than I have to complain. With that in mind, it is time to get back to my earlier scheduled program; the pity party has been cancelled.
🙂 “The pity party has been cancelled.” Amen my friend.