By Chris WittsSaturday 30 Nov 2024Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
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Transcript:
I wonder if you’ve heard the saying, A Bird with a broken wing will never fly as high again. It’s referring to a stage in life where something has gone wrong and we feel we will never fly again—or never reach our true potential because of a mistake or error.
When we make mistakes, we need to understand that we’re in good company. We all have made bad decisions—you can choose to live in it or deal with it. It’s your choice.
No-one knew this truth better than King David from the Bible. He committed adultery with Bathsheba, arranged for her husband to be killed when he learned she was pregnant with his child, and married her in an attempt to cover up his sin. Though they started out on shaky ground, David and Bathsheba turned to God big time to build one of the best marriages in Israel’s history. Quite amazing really.
It didn’t start out well, but look at what God did with them! No wonder when, as an old man, David could write these words we read in Psalm 103:2-5 (VOICE):
O my soul, come, praise the Eternal;
sing a song from a grateful heart;
sing and never forget all the good He has done.
Despite all your many offences, He forgives and releases you.
More than any doctor, He heals your diseases.
He reaches deep into the pit to deliver you from death.
He crowns you with unfailing love and compassion like a king….
He fills you with good and beautiful things, satisfying you as
long as you live.
You don’t have to stay stuck
Someone may have told you that you’re a ‘hopeless case’, or that you’ll never amount to anything. Forget this nonsense—God has a wonderful plan for your life. He has called you from your mother’s womb for a divine purpose.
Whatever your weakness or fault, put it into his hands. He can take it and use it to take you higher and make you stronger than you’ve ever been before for his glory. When you depend solely on his abundant grace, you don’t have to stay stuck at where you’re at in life. His super-abounding grace has already been supplied to you through the sacrifice of his Son to help you fulfil your God-given dreams!
Whatever your weakness or fault, put it into God’s hands.
Others have done it before—and so can you. You may have a broken wing—some problem that has destroyed you in the past—but God has better plans to restore and bless you. God’s grace is attracted to our minuses. Have you noticed? Jesus didn’t have a problem showing grace to lepers, the sickly and demonised, tax collectors, and prostitutes.
But he had a problem with the self-righteous Pharisees, or those who believed that they had it all together and didn’t need a Saviour. During his earthly ministry, Jesus moved among people full of minuses and demerits. They welcomed him because they saw their need for him, and they found his grace of much effect to them. Jesus still moves in the hearts of broken people like you and me.
Get yourself back on track
Maybe you’ve made some bad decisions in life and may be reaping the natural consequences. Whatever the situation you may be in, while the world may tell you that it’s your fault and treat you unkindly, the truth is that God still loves you and has good plans for your life.
He doesn’t condemn you. He wants to help you. No mistake is ever too great for his oversupplying grace. He alone can take the mess of your past mistakes and transform it to give you a beautiful future. The Bible teaches that where sin abounds, his grace abounds much more. And if you say, I can’t do it, Lord, God says, I can. Watch Me! He can do miraculous things.
Sometimes smart people do dumb things. Sometimes wise people do foolish things. And sometimes even godly people do sinful things. But over and over in the Bible we find that we are related to a God who—although he will never, ever treat sin lightly—understands that we’re but dust, understands when we blow it big time, and is willing to meet us in a way that is absolutely contrary to human logic, absolutely contrary to what we know about anyone or anything else other than him.
God can heal us inside and we can live a full and worthwhile life.
He wants to forgive. He wants to take even our worst moments, even when we knew it was wrong, and reclaim us for himself. Like a bird with a broken wing, God can heal us inside and we can live a full and worthwhile life.
Now, it is important to prayerfully establish a plan to get yourself back on track, and then allow God to lead you each step of the way as you move forward within that plan. Determine what the best potential outcome can be considering the circumstances, and then think through the specific steps you will need to take to get to that preferred outcome.
Write out those steps, and then assign deadlines for when you plan to complete those steps. Once you have your plan in place, share it with some of your closest friends. They can help you greatly by giving you additional input and by holding you accountable to sticking to your plan.
Don’t forget what Proverbs 16: 9 (VOICE) says: “People do their best making plans for their lives, but the Eternal guides each step”. Hand your life over to Jesus and ask him to do something new—and he will.