Psalm 121:1-2 (NKJV) I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
One would think that it should be natural for people to instinctively look up to God for help when they are in the valleys of life. Unfortunately, it is not always the case.
One of the reasons why we may not do that is because we are dwelling in self-pity; we think that God is disappointed with us and has forsaken us or even given up on us. Self-pity will cause us to look inward and downward—we will rehearse in our minds how hopeless the situation is and how our bad decisions have led to the current state. Sometimes, we may even have the tendency to look towards others who are in a similar or worse situation in order to draw strength or to come to terms with what we are going through. However, being in a “pity party” not only doesn’t solve the problem, our self-pity will only worsen by comparing our lives with others’ and eventually lead to wrongful resentment towards God. Self-pity is like being stuck in a miry clay—something hard to climb out of.
“What have I done to deserve this?” is usually a common question. While bad decisions, such as those made out of our selfish desires and ambitions, may have led us to reap what we have sown in life, what is done can’t be undone. The way forward is to live through the consequences and reposition ourselves with the help of God, the first step of which is to look up to God and ask for forgiveness for living our lives apart from Him.
1 John 1:9 (NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Although when we are at a very low point in our lives, we may not feel worthy to come before the Lord, we need to remember that He is waiting for us to return to Him, just like the father in the story of the prodigal son, who chose to forgive his son, extended grace and restored everything to him. We can look to the hill of Calvary where Jesus’ shed His blood for us, because it expresses the riches of God’s grace and the work of redemption.
Ephesians 1:7 (NKJV) In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
God has chosen to redeem us from the enslavement of sin through the work of Jesus Christ. We have the forgiveness of sins, and He will forgive us our sins and remember our lawless deeds no more when we ask him for forgiveness—He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness! Remembering this truth will help us to stand up under the pressure and ascend from the valley to the mountain towards God.
Sermon Series: We Have an Unwavering Help and Support from the Lord
自怜的泥坑
诗篇121:1-2 我要向山举目。我的帮助从何而来。我的帮助从造天地的耶和华而来。
有人会认为，当人处于生命低谷时自然会本能地仰望神寻求帮助。不幸的是，情况并非总是如此。
我们不向神寻求帮助的其中一个原因是我们沉浸在自怜中；我们以为神对我们感到失望而撇下了我们，甚至是放弃了我们。自怜使我们倾向于向内和向下看。我们将在脑海中反复演练，看看情况有多无望，以及我们是如何做出导致目前这种状况的错误决定的。有时，我们会倾向于看那些处境相似或更不堪的人，好从中汲取力量，或接受我们正在经历的一切。但是，陷入在”自怜派对”中不仅无济于事，而且当我们拿自己的生活和别人比较时，我们会愈加自怜。最终导致对神的不满。自怜如同泥足深陷，难以自拔。
“我到底是哪里做错？生活如此对待我？”常常会有人这样问。错误的选择(例如出于私心和野心的选择),让我们收获我们之前在生命中所种下的, 覆水难收，木已成舟。继续前进的方法是承受后果，靠着上帝重新自我定位，首先是要仰望上帝，求祂饶恕我们脱离祂而活。
约翰一书 1：9 我们若认自己的罪，神是信实的，是公义的，必要赦免我们的罪，洗净我们一切的不义。
尽管当我们正处于人生的低谷时，可能感觉自己不配来到主面前，但我们需要记住，神在等待我们回转向祂，正如同浪子的故事中的父亲，父亲选择原谅这个浪子，向他施恩，恢复他的一切。看向加略山，在那里耶稣为我们流下祂的宝血。显明了神的丰盛恩典和救赎大工。
以弗所书 1：7 我们藉这爱子的血得蒙救赎，过犯得以赦免，乃是照他丰富的恩典。
神已经选择藉著耶稣基督的工作，救赎我们脱离罪的奴役。我们的罪得以赦免。我们求祂赦免的时候，祂必赦免我们的罪，不再记念我们的不法行为-祂必洗净我们一切的不义！牢记这个真理将帮助我们从压力下站立起来，从谷底提升，去向山顶，走向神。
讲章系列：我们有来自上帝那坚定不移的帮助和支持