Jennifer’s tears rolled down her cheeks as she struggled to express her thoughts.
“I just don’t feel like God sees me or cares about me. He’s never answered a single one of my prayers and I never see Him working in my life. I don’t have many friends, my parents don’t give me the time of day, and my health is awful. I just can’t see any reason to live for God or praise Him. I honestly think He has forgotten about me.”
The tears continued to fall and Jennifer seemed to be growing more depressed and discouraged as she thought about her life. From her perspective, life was awful.
She felt alone, neglected and completely forgotten by God.
Jennifer and I continued to talk through her struggles and it soon became very evident (to both of us) that Jennifer’s entire life revolved around herself. She had elevated her wants, needs, desires, and emotions to the center of her life and the focus of her worship.
Jennifer recognized the sin of idolatry (self-worship instead of God-worship) taking root in her heart and was willing to make changes in her life.
Over the next few weeks, Jennifer went from being a girl who was miserable and sad, to a girl who had a joyful outlook on life. Jennifer applied two simple truths to her life and they radically changed her heart and attitude.
Her life stopped revolving around herself and started revolving around Jesus.
Instead of crying buckets of tears about how forgotten she felt, she praised God for the ultimate sacrifice Christ made and rejoiced in His overwhelming love.
Worship. That’s what Jennifer changed and it changed her life.
Before I dig into the two simple truth’s Jennifer applied, I want you to see if you can relate (in a big or small way) to her story.
- Do you often find yourself wallowing in a puddle of self-pity?
- Do tend to focus on what you don’t have rather than what you do have?
- Do you feel like God has forgotten you?
- Do you wonder why your life is so awful compared to those around you?
- Do you often find that you, yourself, and more of you are the center of your focus?
If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, I think the simple truths Jennifer applied will be just what you need too. We all need them. I really encourage you to think through these truths carefully. Don’t brush past them and move on with your day. These can have the power to transform.
1. Give thanks for Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross.
I once heard someone say, “even if you never receive another earthly blessing again, Christ’s death and resurrection are enough to keep you praising Him for the rest of your life.” Wow! That is so true. As Christians, we have been given the greatest and the most priceless gift of all. We have been given new life and eternity with Christ in heaven…forever. We have been adopted as sons and daughters to a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9).
No matter what happens (or doesn’t happen) in your life, make gratitude to God a daily habit in your day. Praise God for His gift of Christ and thank Him for saving you from an eternity separated from Him. Focus on the magnitude of how Christ changed your life and just praise Him for saving you.
2. Get your eyes on someone else.
One of the best cures for self-focus and self-worship is to focus on serving others. Take your eyes off of your life, your problems, your wants, your needs and begin focusing on someone else. Choose to give to others by being a listening ear, a comforting friend, send a kind note, volunteer with the toddlers at church, pray for those around you, or, get involved with a pro-life organization. Just do something that takes your eyes off of you and gets them onto someone else.
I challenge you to take action and apply those two simple truths.
Take a moment right now to thank God for sending His son, Jesus, and His ultimate sacrifice for you. Thank Him for the way Jesus radically changed your future and gave you new life.
Now, pick someone to serve. Take a moment to think of one person you can serve today. Did you think of someone? What are you going to do for them? How will you show Christ’s love towards them?
For additional ideas on how to apply these truths, check out my video: A Challenge: Make Someone’s Day this December!
I would love to hear how you applied these two simple truths. Share your thoughts and ideas with me in the comments section below!
