John 16:33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
Philippians 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
I write frequently about being amazed by God, but nothing amazes me as of late more than the second chances He gives His children, whom He obviously so loves. There are so many negatives in this world, and boy, do we often make such a bigger mess of our lives by taking control of any given situation and just muddying the waters. But at the end of the day, God continues to give us chance after chance to walk with Him and be in relationship with Him. Some of us are on our tenth chance or so...but He's still there, pursuing, waiting and loving us until we finally get it right.
One of the things that I just can't fathom is how God wipes the past away and truly can make all things new. See, a little over a year ago, I just couldn't see the forest for the trees. I couldn't understand how the hurt would ever go away. I felt life as I had known it was over. And you know what? That life was over...but not in the way I thought! That old life was gone, destroyed, broken...never to be repaired. But what happened next, was truly something that I couldn't have dreamed up. Out of the dust and grime of a failed marriage blossomed a new creation...a new me. And I have to admit, I like this "new me" a lot better than the "old me". I cannot tell you how many people come up to me and tell me they can just see the joy radiating out of me and that it is all over my face...that my mother and father named me perfectly. What a compliment and a testament of what the Lord has done in my life...and for sure, no one said that in years past I can guarantee. It's taken me 35 years to live up to my name in a lot of ways. And that's because I was living for me in the past...I wasn't living for the Lord. That selfishness was squelching His joy and light in my life. Now, it's His joy, His love, His grace that pours out of me (well most days I hope!). Don't get me wrong...I still make a mess of things when I start trying to pick up an issue and try to control it or I start walking in the flesh. But, now, I'm very sensitive to the Holy Spirit's guidance and direction in my life and that makes a huge difference in how I walk out my faith and daily life.
I can honestly say, that the past is the past. I don't think about it every day. Sure, I'm sorry it happened. But I don't waste time dwelling on it or analyzing it. Right now, I have so many things in my life that are just so exciting and brand new and full of hope. God has brought me a new hope, a new future, and a different way to look at and do life with Him. I have no clue how He does it, but He's wiped the slate clean. There's no comparisons, there's no doubts, there's no part of my heart that He hasn't healed and transformed. A do over of sorts. It truly is like the first time everytime I do something...and it's amazing, wonderful, right and NEW.
No matter what your situation, there is always hope. Don't believe the lie that you don't deserve a second chance in this world because of past mistakes. Hang on to God and let Him do the redemptive work in your life He's been trying to do all along. Sit back, hang on, and be amazed at the ride He will take you on.
Second Chances ROCK!
JOY
No comments:
Post a Comment