By Chris WittsThursday 11 Aug 2022Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
Transcript:
In Part 1, I was talking about the matter of scratches in life, talking about what can happen sometimes. You know, we talk about bruises, getting annoyed or upset and sometimes thinking, Things are not going really well for me.
If there’s an injury we go to a doctor and check it out. But sometimes there are internal things that go wrong and sometimes we just need to ask, What’s this all about? I said also that Paul was put in prison in Philippi; he could have complained but he used that result and the jailer became a believer in Jesus Christ. And Jesus himself hang on a cross, nailed to a cross; and God could have brought him down. But no, Jesus was left of the cross.
And did God bring any good of that? And yes, he certainly did. So what’s the key? What’s our response to scratches of life? Our response is to look past the pain. The Apostle Paul describes it like this in his letter to the Corinthian Christians and to us:
This is the reason we never lose heart. These troubles which are temporary are winning for us a permanent, a glorious and solid reward out of proportion to our pain. So we don’t look at the temporary situation. We look beyond to see the eternal benefits. (2 Corinthians 4:16-17)
If you feel deeply affected by the rough-and-tumble of life, let me read to you a beautiful verse from Psalm 56:8:
You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.
The Gem Of Your Life
The verb translated here as ‘you keep track’ is closely related to the Hebrew word for book (sefer). David envisions God writing down his sorrows so as to remember them. That shows how much God loves and cares for us. He understands the tough times, and the level of our sorrow. The good news of Psalm 56:8 is that our God does indeed pay attention to our sorrows. Every cry, every tear, every pain matters to God.
The Bible says in Romans 8:28: “We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” The Bible isn’t saying that every event in your life will be good. You and I both know that’s just not true. But it does say that when you put your whole life together, every piece of it works together for good. Because Jesus is your Saviour, and you are committed to him.
The gem I spoke of before is your life. It may be scratched because of past mistakes. You may have done the wrong thing, but that’s not final. Perhaps you were a rebellious child and made your parents unhappy. Perhaps you married the wrong person. Perhaps you didn’t raise up your kids well. Perhaps you made poor financial decisions.
God’s Plan To Bless Your Life
I want to give you hope today. Your future is brighter than your past. How do I know? Because God’s plan is bigger than your mistakes. Your mistakes are no match to God’s great plans to bless your life.
God has a great plan to bless your life. And He has many ways to make this great plan a reality. You may have made a wrong detour. But that doesn’t mean you no longer can receive His abundant blessing.” The amazing truth about God is that no mistake you make can totally destroy God’s plan for your life. How do I know? Look at people in the Bible:
- Jacob—how he lied, deceived, and swindled. Yet God named an entire nation after him.
- David—he became an adulterer and a murderer. Yet God still made him the greatest king of Israel.
- Elijah—he ended up depressed and a coward before Queen Jezebel. Yet he was there with Jesus and Moses at the miracle of Transfiguration.
- Peter—in the New Testament, a hot-headed, temperamental, and out-of-control guy he was. Yet God made him the head of the Church.
- Paul—he was responsible for the murder of God’s people. Yet God made him one of the greatest apostles of the Bible.
God loves you. He wants to bless you with great relationships and great people. Because his plan to bless you is bigger than all your mistakes. Don’t let those scratches stop you becoming what God wants for you. Psalm 37:24 says, “The Lord will hold your hand, and if you stumble, you still won’t fall”.