A few days ago, I felt discouraged.

Not discouraged because anything terrible had happened.

I just felt sad.

Blue.

A little lonely.

So I went to the Lord and asked Him to encourage my heart.

Then I got up and continued doing the next thing.

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Timestamp: 7:20 Stop Trying To Change People

A couple of days later, my husband brought in the mail.

Sitting on top was a beautifully decorated envelope.

Someone had taken the time to add a floral paper ribbon across the back and seal it with an old-fashioned wax seal.

Before I even opened it, I loved it.

I was touched by the beauty of it and the obvious care the sender had taken.

Inside was a handwritten letter from a young woman at our church whom I've grown to know and love over the past few years.

As I read her words, tears filled my eyes.

She thanked me for things I didn't even know had made a difference in her life.

She mentioned conversations I barely remembered.

She spoke of encouragement I didn't realize she had carried with her.

When I finished reading the letter, I stopped and thanked God.

It felt as though He was gently saying:

"I see you."

"I haven't forgotten you."

"You are not alone."

"You are making a difference."

"And I am at work answering your prayers."

Nothing in my circumstances had changed.

But my perspective had.

And it reminded me once again of something God has shown me many times throughout my life.

When I go through seasons where it feels like God isn't doing anything, He is often doing some of His most important work.

When I go through seasons like that, I sometimes feel empty, discouraged, and very alone.

If I'm not careful, my thoughts can drift into dangerous territory.

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Why doesn't God answer my prayers?

I feel so alone.

No one cares about me.

Everyone else has it so much easier than I do.

Self-pity often starts with a subtle shift in my thinking.

Instead of focusing on God and His unfailing love and trustworthiness, I begin focusing on what I see as negatives, and I complain in my spirit.

Yet when I look back over my life, I can see a pattern.

Whenever God has been about to answer my prayers and change my life in a significant way, He has often taken me through what I call a Season of Preparation.

It's often when God does some of His most important work in my life.

The answer hasn't arrived yet.

The circumstances haven't changed yet.

But God is preparing my heart.

Preparing my faith.

Preparing my character.

Preparing me to receive what He already knows is coming.

If you've gotten caught up in comparison, feeling "less than," remember that God uniquely created you for His purpose, not anyone else’s, and He wants you to find it.

You can read more about that here: Uniquely Created by God for a Purpose

Underneath it all, God was preparing me while I impatiently waited for the answer to my prayers.

That gives me peace.

During this season of preparation, He always brings me to a new place of surrender and a new level of trust.

Heartfelt gratitude fills me.

Not surprisingly, at other times, being grateful and trusting Him were choices I had to make with my will, before the feelings came, rather than automatic responses.

Faithfully, whenever I take it to God and ask Him to help me, He always does.

Choosing gratitude instead of self-pity comes more easily each time I've experienced another Season of Preparation and the resulting season of fruitful harvest.

I wouldn't trade the knowledge of God that's grown through those seasons for anything.

The next time you feel self-pity beginning to settle over your heart, I hope you'll take a step back and ask God:

"Are You trying to grow me in Godly character, Lord?"

"What do You want me to learn?"

"Is this a Season of Preparation I'm going through?"

Then thank Him for His wisdom.

Praise Him for His love.

And gratefully acknowledge His perfect timing...

trusting that even when you can't see the answer yet, He is still at work.