Years ago, my wife, Debbie, gave me a bait casting reel for my birthday. I was still fishing and hunting back then, and I couldn't wait to try it out. One day after work, I went to a local pond fishing. I never had a reel like this and thought fishing with it would be easy. I was wrong! Everytime I cast, I would get a tangled mess. Eventually, I might get one out of five cast without messing up. I spent all of my time untangling fishing line. Well, it is setting on a shelf today. I never did take the time to master casting with it nor did I ask anyone to teach me how.
Sometimes our life gets in a tangled mess. We fail several times and just seem to give up and set ourselves on a shelf like I did my fishing reel. Whether the failure is related to spiritual failure, financial failure, health failure or career failure, we just get all tangled up with the failure, and our energy and hope is severely depleted. We lead a life of despair thinking we can never get forgiveness or be useful to anyone.
Well, that is a lie and the devil is the source. Many characters we read about in the Bible had failures, but then they allowed God to step in and mold them for His use.
After we have tangled up our lives in such a mess, can God really use us? Let's go to His word for the answer. In Gen. 1:1-2 it says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, but look at verse 2. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. Now go to verse 31. Then God saw everything He had made and indeed it was very good. God took the dark, empty, no form earth and created something that was good, but He put the emphasis, "very good". Next turn to Jer. 18:1-6.
God tells Jeremiah , go down to the potter's house and there He would cause him to hear His words. The potter was making a vessel of clay that was ruined in his hand. The potter made it again into another vessel that was good. Then God spoke to Jeremiah saying, "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?" "Look as the clay is in the potter's hand , so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!"
You may be thinking, but I have really sinned against God and have gotten my life in a mess. My sins are so many I am not worthy. Read what God says in Isaiah 1:18. "Come now, and let us reason together," says the Lord, "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." In Hebrews 8:12, the Lord says, For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." Does that sound like your case is hopeless?
Another passage that always gives me encouragement on the love and mercy of God is the parable of the lost son. You can read this in Luke 15:11-32. The son had failed terribly by riotous living and lost all of his money. When he came to himself, he decided to go home. Look what happens. His father, which represents God in this parable, runs to meet him. Does he treat him as unworthy? No, he put a ring on his finger, the best robe on him, and sandals on his feet. He also killed the fatted calf. Wow, we are not use to this. Well, that is God. His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Do not believe Satan's lie, because you have sinned and failed in your past that you can't have godly sorrow, repent and let God mold you into a new life for His purpose. We have to trust in God. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Yes, our lives get in a tangled mess sometimes, but we do not need to give up. God can patiently and lovingly unravel the tangles if we will just trust Him to do it.
Speaking of a tangled mess, I read today something that is really disturbing. I have not seen it on the news and probably will not. On August the 17th there was an academic conference in Baltimore, MD. with a group seeking to normalize pedophilia. They called pedophiles "minor attracted persons" trying to gradually desensitize us of this horrible sin. They are wanting to just call this another lifestyle without criminal consequences. You say they will never do this. When did you first hear the word "gay" used as an alternate lifestyle. The majority remained silent and currently we have the fruit of that silence. Go to yahoo or google and search, academic conference in Baltimore seeks to normalize pedophilia. We do not want our great grand children to say, "Why didn't Christian people do something?" We need to watch this one! Remember, truth in love.
Please send me your comments to rhepler52@gmail.com .
Thanks for reading!
Rick Hepler
