Skip to main content

God Is Not Afraid of Your Mess

    


         Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm 51:4)

Abigail Maxina shared this meme, and it struck a chord with me. In some ways, it speaks to the issue of purity that I’ve been exploring. It even fits today’s verse. Our good Sunday School response to this is “Yes! Hurrah! Yippee! Thank You, God!” And it is a good response. We should consider it a good thing.

But there are a lot of buts involved. God may not be afraid of our messes, but we may be. If nothing else, God cleaning them up might be painful. I think of Eustace in The Voyage of The Dawn Treader. Then there’s the problem: while it’s a mess, it’s ours.  We’re used to it. Even if we don’t like it, we’re still uncomfortable having someone else come along and decide about it. If God would only ask our opinion about His plans for our mess each step, maybe it wouldn’t be so hard. And since it’s our mess, saying, “Here Ya go, God, " feels irresponsible. Have at it!” Our egos don’t like feeling like a failure.

It takes desperation and/or courage to surrender our messes to God, and we don’t necessarily get our happily-ever-after, either quickly or even in our lifetimes. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t benefit from letting God handle our messes.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more