Life is difficult for everyone, and for many reasons, but sometimes our wounds are self-inflicted. As much as we would like to fault others or blame circumstances we are usually our own worst enemy. Much of our misery comes from self-imposed goals and unrealistic expectations. We pursue our self-made dream and it becomes a nightmare, then we complain about life being unfair. Why? If you plant an oak tree you don’t expect pecans. If you plant a thorn bush expecting grapes it isn’t going to happen. Even so, if you expect all pleasure and no problems in life you will always be disappointed and never content.
We have no reason nor right to expect a care-free life. That’s why it is important that we get our perspective from the Bible–it tell us what to expect. Jesus said we would be hated and hurt by the world. He warned that following Him would be hard–not fun and easy. If we expect anything different we are setting ourselves up for a fall–we will be disappointed. But, if we refuse to entertain these unjustified expectations we won’t get disappointed and grow discourage. So if you are wallowing in self-pity because times are tough maybe you ought to go back to the Bible and find out what God said. Nearly all our worries revolve around the fact that we feel we deserve more, bigger, and better. But when we discover the truth, that we deserve absolutely nothing, we realize that we have it better than we deserve, and therefore have nothing to complain about–regardless of how bad things get. Knowing we don’t deserve anything helps us be thankful for everything and complain about nothing. Think about it.
