06 Jul Do You Feel as Though You’ve “Blown it?”

I’ve been there. Nine years ago, my life was in shambles. I felt I had messed up so badly that I couldn’t come back from it. More recently, I made some significant mistakes in the ministry where I felt I may have done more harm than good. I found it hard to believe God could fix what I broke. Maybe you’re now at one of those, or somewhere in between. Perhaps someone you know is. If you think you or they are too far gone, allow me to encourage you. You are wrong! Let me give you three examples from the Bible that prove you wrong.

1. King David: The treachery is stunning. David lusted after the bathing Bathsheba and had her brought to him. He slept with her, got her pregnant and ultimately killed her husband to conceal the crime.
2. Peter: As Jesus predicted, Peter denied knowing Jesus three times after His arrest. How do you come back from that?
3. Saul of Tarsus: The Pharisee who killed Christians and made it his life’s mission to wipe out “The Way,” which is what the First Century Jesus movement was called. Persecuting Christians was his profession. Redeemable? Certainly not!

Actually, they were all redeemed. How? Because, as one of my daily devotionals put it, we see such people and their failures from a human perspective, where God sees it all from an eternal perspective. He knew the plans he had for them and the plans He has for us. So God uses others to make those plans happen:

1. King David: David was acting as though He had gotten away with His crime. God saw it clearly from an eternal view and showed it to the prophet Nathan. Nathan calls out David’s sin and he confesses and repents in Psalm 51. He was still a man after God’s own heart!
2. Peter: After His resurrection, Jesus feeds Peter breakfast and restores Peter (Apparently, Jesus felt Peter was a case He had to handle Himself).
3. Saul of Tarsus: As Saul is headed to Damascus to persecute Christians, Jesus appears to him and strikes him blind. He then sends him off to Damascus where He calls on Ananias to welcome Saul and touch him so he will be healed. Ananias had heard of Saul, and he was very reluctant to help. Jesus assures Him that Saul will become His faithful servant.

David and Peter likely felt they had blown it beyond redemption. Ananias appeared to feel that way about Saul, who God would convert to the Apostle Paul. They all saw the human view while God saw it all from an eternal view. So, what about you?

Do you feel as though there is rubble all around and current circumstances or your whole life can’t be rebuilt? Do you feel that about someone else? Let me encourage you. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, He sees your situation from the eternal view. He hasn’t given up on you, so don’t give up on yourself or anyone else. If you or they haven’t accepted Christ, I pray it happens for you today. When you do, you will understand: “It’s completely hopeless…but God!”

Pastor Jerry Bader