God is merciful. He is truly
the God of the second chance, and the third, and the fourth, and God delivered
to me another of his very precious promises, a promise that is ever so precious
when it is needed ever so badly:
But
if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you
look
for him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in
distress
and all these things have happened to you, then in later days
you
will return to the Lord your God and obey him. For the Lord your
God
is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the
covenant
with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath
(Deuteronomy
4:29-31).
Even when you have sinned greatly and even when you
think: “This time I have really blown it,” God promises that “if from there you
seek” him—if from the deep, dark hole of humiliation and shame, disappointment
and failure, you seek God—then you will find him. How do you know if you are
seeking God “with all your heart”? Your best friends will tell you (if you have
committed friends). “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure…”
(Jeremiah 17:9). You certainly are not the best judge of your own repentance.
But our loved ones know. Our mentors, peers, disciples, and family—they know
when we’ve repented. They know if we are going after it with all our hearts.
Ask them. Then trust their evaluation and act accordingly. Praise God for
discipleship!
Even from that deep, dark hole,
God’s promises are true. In fact, they are truest there. Because it is from
there that they are most needed. They are the ladder leading out, the cord
thrown into the pit, the rope that we must cling to for dear life as God pulls
us back to spiritual safety. God promises that you will find him: “For the Lord
your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you...”(v. 31).
Now THAT'S encouraging!!Have a GREAT day!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad God is a God of second chances, full of grace and mercy. As someone who left God and then returned, I look back on my time in "in the wilderness" as a dark time, a time when dreams were shattered by sin. Now being back with God for over 12 years now I have great hope, as I see God doing the impossible and working despite all of my past failures. Being with God is THE gift that cannot be surpassed..
ReplyDeleteThank you Tom. I needed this today.
ReplyDelete