Enjoy free shipping with $50+ orders!

Compassion Triumphs Pity

September 13, 2023

Compassion Triumphs Pity

Isaiah 49:13 For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.


What’s your favorite type of party? I love parties that celebrate my loved ones’ major life accomplishments, like graduations, promotions, retirement, or marriage milestones. But there’s a type of party that I know ALL of us have been to at least one time or another. It’s a party that we did not appreciate the invitation, but we RSVP’d “yes” anyway: A Pity Party.

A self-pity party happens when we are so overwhelmed with our circumstances that we get locked up in the role of helplessness. Sometimes we get stuck in a metal pity party because of other people’s mistakes, other times because of our own. We throw pity parties because they make us feel validated in a victimhood mentality. We throw pity parties because they make us feel justified in shifting most or all blame away from ourselves and onto others.

We can find biblical hope for this struggle when we consider the story of the Israelites’ exile in the Old Testament. The afflictions of the Israelites’ exile were two-fold. On one hand, they were exiled because of their own sin, and on the other hand, their burdens were increased because of the sin of the nations oppressing them. I am certain that if I were an exiled Israelite, I would have been grumbling and throwing pity parties the majority of the time. How does God respond to them? Through necessary rebuke and compassion.

The healthy alternative to self-pity is to accept the Lord’s compassion. When we dwell on who God is, it helps us gain a more accurate perspective of ourselves and our circumstances.

Where self-pity is consumed being immersed in our own problems, God’s compassion seeks to comfort us without downplaying or overemphasizing our problems.

Where self-pity makes us feel isolated like “the only one going through this,” God’s compassion reminds us that He became flesh to suffer with us and as us so that we could be restored in full.

Where self-pity thrives on staying stuck, God’s compassion leads us to repentance, gratitude, and change.

Lord, I trust that your compassion is strong enough to redirect my self-pity. Help me view my problems accurately: to submit in repentance for my wrongdoing and to submit in forgiveness for the wrongdoing of others.

Jessica Bearden, Wheatful Wednesday Devotional Author

Jessica Bearden works as a Licensed Professional Counselor in The Woodlands, TX.  She is passionate about providing a judgement-free, hope-focused environment for her clients.  Jessica enjoys theatre, traveling, theology, and teaching the Bible!   You will catch her drinking coffee every single day to keep up with chasing after her twin girls and toddler boy!  She hosts Abide Bible Study retreats in TX to guide women to study Scripture with intentionality and passion.

Connect with her on Instagram! @jessica_bearden If interested in counseling services, you can contact her and the True North team at www.truenorthtw.com (must be a Texas resident to receive True North services).





Also in Wheatful Woman Blog

Watching our words
Watching our words

September 20, 2023

God, please forgive me when I have used hurtful or unnecessary words to gain a sense of control. Help me trust you to guard every word that comes out of my mouth.

View full article →

no room for comparison
no room for comparison

September 06, 2023

As Christians, the biggest problem with unhealthy comparison is that it misplaces our passion for building the Kingdom of God onto building our own kingdoms of self. Comparison strips us of seeing what God has given us and called us to.

View full article →

The elimination of distraction and experience of peace is calling!
The elimination of distraction and experience of peace is calling!

August 30, 2023

God has given us vision to a weekend of time with incredible women, time alone and time with God. Our private chef will be preparing delicious meals and our host team will be creating spaces for personal reflection and group conversation that will be pivotal for women looking for more peace in their relationship with God.We cannot wait to watch life long friendships come together, as they have at past retreats, and women experience a taste of peace unlike anything they've known before.We pray...

View full article →