Hearts of the Weak.

I will update on missions later. Pictures upon pictures to still photoshop, so I'd rather do a nice photoblog instead of a boring all-text one.

anyhoots, this is a book i'm currently reading "the dangerous duty of delight" by John Piper.
Here is an excerpt :)

"The nature & depth of human pride are illuminated by comparing boasting to self-pity. Both are manifestations of pride. Boasting is the response of pride to success. Self-pity is the response of pride to suffering. Boasting says "I deserve admiration because I have achieved so much." Self-pity says, "I deserve admiration because I have suffered so much." Boasting is the voice of pride in the heart of the strong. Self-pity is the voice of pride in the heart of the weak. Boasting sounds self-sufficient. Self-pity sounds self-sacrificing.

The reason self-pity doesn't look like pride is that it appears to be so needy. But the need arises from a wounded ego. It doesn't come from a sense of unworthiness, but from a sense of unrecognized worthiness. It is the response of unapplauded pride. "

John Piper was saying that the one true thing that can axe down this tree of self-pity is acknowledging that suffering in the Christian life should bring us great joy. Great gain.
And for one, this is expected. A default and automatically integrated portion once we are found in Christ (matt 5:11-12). But, if Christ is our joy, our prize, our exceedingly great reward and our one heart's treasure, then wouldn't it make sense that even if He strips away the very things we love (which sometimes are the very things that ruin us in the end), become great gain? "For me to live is Christ & to die is gain." The more we submit of ourselves, the more we surrender all our self-sufficiencies to God, the more room and the more of US, our RAW selves He has to work with. The more He can shape us..

"They become like little children who trust the strength of their father and who want the joy of his reward."

Instead of complaining and questioning our deepest hurts and such, let's just "lean into the pain" as I once read somewhere, and trust that His hand will give us enough spiritual, mental, emotional..(etc.) provision to accomplish His will.

fyi: hope that no one reads of this critically. i know even just from reading that there are a lot of things that you can pick apart and find a rebuttal to or whatnot, but, this is just a VERY, VERY, VERY, general thing of what God has taught me recently and I wanted to share :) i'm not forming any crazy theories here!

his servant,
steph <3