Today’s Quote: “Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace.” -Jerry Bridges”
Today we are going to have one big giant TIME OUT:
Because I want to just quickly pull you to the side and give you some encouragement to not give up.
I want to encourage you, sweet girl, to keep moving forward in this journey no matter how it has gone so far for you.
Maybe you have been messing up left and right and have reverted back to some of your old bad habits.
Maybe you've been slipping up and checking up on #9.
Maybe you've just been stupid about everything, and feel like you've entirely lost your focus...
If that is you I need you to listen closely to me .
All is not lost over some stupid and impulsive decisions.
I’ve heard it said that among dieting women, one of the most common downfalls are slip-ups.
That a woman will eat a few forbidden snacks, and totally give up her diet because she feels like she blew it.
So then she will go on this extensive eating binge and gain more weight than when she started!
All over a measly snickers bar and some funyuns.
Is that not one of the dumbest things you’ve ever heard? But we do it!
And we do the same thing in our spiritual life! We make a few mistakes or take a few steps backward, and then we think,
“I’ll never be able to do this right so why bother?” Or
“it’s just not worth the sacrifice.”
Girlfriend, it is worth the sacrifice.
But this is where I really need you to pay attention:
Your Jesus, the one who came down and died on the cross for you to cleanse you and make you new, He loves you. Like beyond what you can even understand! And He is full of endless chances for you.
Oh girls, we need people to remind us of this more often!
That not only did Jesus come to save us from all of our past built-up sins, wash us clean and do a new thing, but He is available to save us on a daily basis, and cleanses us from all of the current mistakes we are making.
The the same grace that saved you will be the grace that sustains you.
Some of you get so bent out of shape for messing up all the time and just sucking at life, but guess what? We all suck!!!
We suck at living up to our own standards, let alone God's standards. But what makes the difference in a life is when, rather than throwing in the towel out of discouragement,
we get back down on our face, repent and have faith that God is capable of starting us over,
and over and
over and
over...
despite how many times we’ve messed up and despite how we might feel.
That we pour out that discouragement to Him and ask for forgiveness and a new start. A clean slate.
The same grace that saved you will sustain you.
Girlfriend, you are working to be strong at a lot of things right now, I know you are.
Make sure that one of those things is God’s grace for you.
“So then, my child, be strong in the grace which is in Christ Jesus.” -2 Timothy 2:1
You need to know that He’s there for you no matter how stupidly or sinfully you’ve acted. And He always offers you a fresh start!
Oh, forgiveness.
I don’t know about you but sometimes I do some things that I just need not to count. We all do! That is why God gives us the awesome gift of repentance. When we come to His feet in the honest state that we’re in
(messed up), and ask for forgiveness and help, that is exactly where untold
miracles have taken place. It is why people like me can say, “I’m not exactly
sure why or how, but I once was blind but now I can see!” I’m honestly not
exactly sure how he unchained me from my past and gave me hope and freedom, but
my heart knows it happened.
But we can so easily get caught up in our own mess of guilt, or feelings of anger toward God.
When I’ve strayed long and far, I often find myself thinking thoughts like:
“Did I sign up for a lifetime of guilt? Never feeling like I’m where I should be with God. Is this what Christianity is all about, feeling guilty all the time?!”
So is that really true? No, of course not.
And if we know anything as Christians it should be that our feelings do not get to decide the reality of who God is. Period.
“For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.”-1John 3:20
So you need to know, despite what you may feel, that you have never strayed so far that God is not willing to swoop back in and save you if you ask Him.
It is one of the absolute cornerstones of who God is, and yet we lose sight of it so easily.
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”-John 3:17
Condemn.
Save.
Condemn.
Save.
Let those 2 words role around in your head a little bit and then tell me this...
Which one do you more often associate with God?
Do you think of him as waiting there to condemn you for what you’ve been doing while you’ve been distant from him?
Or to SAVE your heart from all that it’s gone through while it’s been distant from him?
He wants to SAVE you!
Let Him!!
The Bible says that His strength is made perfect in our weakness, so don’t go running away from Him in the areas that you’re weak. Let Him be strong for you! Just ask!
Listen, I know that there’s a lot against you in this world.But you need to know that God is FOR YOU!
He loves you no matter what you’ve done. No matter how far you’ve strayed.
Turn your heart back to Him and be flooded with His love and blessings.
Time in:)
Today’s Dare: Today is a fresh start! I want you to do your POFU time and spend some extra time in repentance, pouring out, and asking God for a clean slate!
Start over today! Get your life back in order and rest your spirit in God’s grace for you.