Self-pity vs. Peace and Rest

I wanted to talk a little more about Cain today.

"But for Cain and his offering He had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell." Genesis 4:5

Ah, self-pity.

I know him well.

That feeling when we know, we've let the most important person down, in this case THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON, and we know they weren't really happy.

And you would be seriously messed up if you didn't feel even a little bit awful about that letdown.

You hate yourself, and then self-pity comes. He comes and tells you just how awful you are at, well, life.

He tells you that you will never measure up. That you stink. That you are not good enough. That nothing you ever do is good enough.

See, Cain listened to that evil little guy standing on his shoulder whispering the lies.

And his face fell. Because he believed the lies.

And he kept listening to that evil little guy on his shoulder, and that voice convinced him to do something awful.

Please keep in mind, I am not saying Cain didn't mess up to begin with, and that he didn't keep messing up. We all know he did.

The point is, we can't sit and dwell. We can't dwell on what we've done wrong. Because it goes from bad to worse. We need to let it go. Learn from your mistakes, but please, let them go.

I'll confess, I'm bad at not wallowing in my self-pity.

God lets our sins go. He casts them as far as the east is from the west. He's washed us white.

We don't find peace and rest in the ugly.

To quote Casting Crowns, "In the arms of Your mercy I find rest."

---Joy