Deserving of Pity

Offering the sacrifice of praise is pretty much ingrained into my lifestyle. I haven't got to the point when I would do the morning and evening sacrifices yet, but one or two sessions a day (outside of church) is still consistent.

Just yesterday I had this fiery dart hit me in the mind: if God can pretty much count on me to offer praise to him in the good times and bad, what motivation does he have to let me have more good days than bad?

Psalm 103:11-14 (NIV 84) - For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

The shield of faith went up - the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. The Lord has compassion on me. He has no obligation to bless me, to shield me from unnecessary evil, but he has compassion on me.

Moreover, this compassion is likened to that of a father with his children. That got to me. I certainly have compassion on my two sons. How many times have I seen they were really tired out and just let them sleep, while I settle things for them so everything would be OK by the time they wake up? How many times have I delayed waking up my younger boy from his nap, even though he really ought to be up and studying for his school exams? 

The NKJV version of this verse uses the word "pity" instead of "compassion". I didn't like it, but now I realize that pity implies that the object of pity is in a sad state. No matter how blessed we are in our human lives, we are still in a pitiful state. Really. You can have power and influence, a close-knit and loving family, a few gazillion dollars in the bank and servants to do your bidding, you can have perfect physical health for yourself and your immediate family, but in God's eyes you still need pity, because we are still nowhere near the highly exalted state we would be when Christ is fully formed in us and is fully displayed in us. 

Thoughts like this totally mess up my mind, but in a good way. :)

So God has no motivation to bless my life, except for his compassion. How confident am I in facing life? That would depend on how confident I am of God's compassion, right?