Dear God,
You are the Highest God, worthy of all power, authority, and love. You never give up on Your people because of Your goodness. Remind us of Your unfailing, unrelenting love. In the ashes, we find redemption through the cross. Even when we failed again, You will never stop looking to restore us. Teach us to be more like You. Give us the heart to be forgiven and seek forgiveness. Remind us that You go before us, behind us, towards us, and You are with us forever until the end.
Love,
Grace
Do you ever feel like there’s no way out of your situation? The worst feeling is when you put yourself there. It’s when you’re in the ditch, not because someone else threw you in, but you chose to jump.
It wasn’t a leap of faith, it was sometimes in our selfishness, our fear, lack of preparation, deficiency of patience, inability to love, hard-heartedness, half-heartedness, and we end up stuck. I think that it can feel like the hand God stretched out to us is now closed because in life that’s how it is.
You get one chance to get it right. Perfect actually. People are not as inclined to second chances. Sometimes we aren’t either. Our tolerance to sin in others is way lower than to our own. Friendships have crumbled under harsh words said under heated arguments. Relationships falter under the weight of the past that can’t be forgotten or forgiven. Love has died because we couldn’t be the first one to say sorry not because we weren’t sorry.
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22-23
“For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone.”
Lamentations 3:31-33
Every morning, God gives us a fresh slate that’s covered by the blood of Jesus. You are allowed to come home because He left His in heaven. We can feel like we need to atone first before coming to God, and there is a time for repentance, redemption, and discipline. There is also just a time to come with all your trash, all your insecurities, the regrets, and the pain of the past. Just bring it all. Every day, bring it to Jesus because He wants all of it because it’s all of you.
In people’s eyes, we can lose value because of our brokenness. It’s not because they’re perfect or we’re perfect that we reject others. It’s because of our lack of understanding that God values the broken. That God is an artist of the pieces not of the whole. We all come in and out of this world with scars and tears. No one comes out unscathed. But only by Jesus’ wounds do we receive healing for ours.
“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53:4-6 NIV
For every time I walked away, Jesus ran towards me. For every wound I caused and I was afflicted by, Jesus bore the blame. Jesus is the only one who understands you, yes, but He is the only one who truly suffered for you and through you too. He doesn’t use it against us. He calls us sheep.
Do you know how loving it is to call someone your sheep? To hold them to your heart and protect them with your life. Jesus, the Shepherd, lays down His life for silly sheep like us. Every single one. He could have ninety nine, and He still goes looking for one. It’s just who He is, that’s the kind of love and mercy He has for us. Isn’t that crazy to think about: how great He loves you even if you don’t love Him.
In our disobedience, Jesus came. Not in our right living or our projected self did He come. It is amazing grace!
Know that when we come to God, it’s because we don’t deserve to. Take the moment to sit in the suffering of Jesus, fill yourself with gratitude and appreciation and obedience, and return home. God is waiting to embrace you. Every time, no matter how many times, and He will be just as happy. He will still discipline and transform you, but first come and receive the warm welcome, the big hug, and the smile of your Heavenly Father.
God is smiling at you. That’s the face you will see when you come back. Don’t give up on yourself, why would you? God is not done with me. God is definitely not done with you. He is still waiting and working in the storms and silence. He is right there next to us. He will never stop holding your hand through it all. In fact, He will carry you. He will carry it all. He cares about you more than you ever imagined. How else would He save every tear you’ve shed? How else would He keep count of every hair on your head?
That is the God of second, third, fourth, and every chance.
If you are far from God, He will close the gap. He will draw closer to you, actually. That’s exactly who He is. I see it in my life, in the lives of everyone who calls on the name of Jesus, that He will hear. He will go into the ditches we’re in to lift us out. He will do it again and again. So come home.
Dear God,
I thank You for being the God of the second chance and so much more. Lord, Your name is higher than the heavens. It is a name that will forever be worthy of praise. Thank You for Your constant love, affection, and acceptance. You are boundless in mercy and kindness, and I pray that anyone reading this who desires reconciliation with You or to draw closer again to You would be welcomed. Thank You for being the Father who runs towards us in our mess. Please help us be people of joy, gratitude, and godliness.
In Jesus’ name we pray,
Amen
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