Such A Mess


 
Lord you are my God: I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things,
things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1

What is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them? Psalm 8:4

I just read a quote that says, “God is at work in the mess. That’s the message of the Bible.”  Isn’t that great? If you don’t feel, at least sometimes, like a bit of a mess, please contact me. I really want to learn your secret. Personally I more often than not feel a bit like a mess, a productive mess, a loveable mess but I mess all the same.

I am very fond of the verses in Romans where Paul talks about his behavior. “For I do not do the good I want to do—but this I keep on doing.” Romans 7:19 In my quiet time in the morning, after any time of prayer, I feel pulled together, ready to obey with alacrity, ready to be “good.”  Unfortunately, much like Paul, it doesn’t take long before I find myself doing something I shouldn’t or not doing something that I should. In other words, I’m a mess.

It is so comforting to know that God indeed, loves this hot mess. I even have a t-shirt that says so. I often quote Beth Moore and imitate her twang saying, “God is still working on me.” He is! And for that I am truly grateful.

We all mess up, neglect what is important, stated baldly, we find ourselves in sin more often than we feel we should. That’s okay as long as you don’t let those failures defeat you. God is at work in this mess, the mess that is an individual, an organization, a church and even in nations. As long as we invite him in, God will show up and he will work on us. (Revelation 3:20)

Don’t despair or panic or worst, walk away from God if you feel like a mess. Run into his open and forgiving arms. No matter what you’re facing, doing or feeling today, know this: God is at work and he doesn’t make mistakes. There is light at the end of the tunnel, hope in all circumstances and love to cover it all.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Not Really god, where are you?

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning to noon.”Baal answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said, “Surely he is a god! Perhaps his is deep in thought, or busy or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 1 Kings 18:26b-27 Those who know me would be quick to tell you that I am a bit sarcastic. It’s a quality that I have passed on to my children and even some of my grandchildren. Some days I feel a little guilty. Is that really a quality that God wants to see in me? Certainly that cannot be my go to attitude but there are times that it comes in quite nicely. This morning, reading a totally unrelated verse, I was reminded of this account in the first book of Kings. (It begins at verse 16 and continues to the end of the chapter. I highly recommend reading it if you haven’t and it if you have reread it. It’s great!) In this p
Read more

My Offering

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also love you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. Ephesians 5:1-2 Standing in my kitchen, I was praying that what I was putting together for a friend would convey what I want her to know, that I so deeply appreciate her. As my mind spun around what can I add? What would she really like? Is this enough? I had to laugh. That is so often my prayer, “Lord, I don’t have anything to give. I don’t give enough. What can I possibly do?” and on, and on and…. Well, you get it, I’m sure. May I just say, GOD IS GOOD! (Yes, I know the caps mean I’m shouting. Yes, I am shouting!) While I was preparing my “gift” I was thinking about how often I feel that I don’t do enough, for friends, for family, for my hubby and certainly for God. I had music playing, another pretty typical occurrence. The Third Day song, “Offering” started to play and I started singing along.
Read more

Selective Sight

You shall not bow down to them; for I, the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me but showing love to the a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. Exodus 20:5-6 A precious little one that I know has a glass eye. We’ll call him Jack. Beyond the lack of his eye, Jack has a lot of other challenges. His brain hasn’t caught up with his chronology and it most likely never will. My expectation is that Jack will always need someone close by to help him through life. He’s a needy kid who is also a little bit on the naughty side. It was his uniquely naughty nature that taught me a spiritual lesson. You see, little Jack can pop out that glass eye and he does. The other day while I was with him another child in the room was yelling, “Eye, eye, eye.” Not having experienced Jack’s particular talent I heard it is “I, I, I”. Just as I was about to ask her to please b
Read more