Ephesians 2:4-5 But God,
being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even
when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by
grace you have been saved. (ESV)
Do you ever lie awake at
night and are unable to sleep because you’re thinking about all of the foolish
mistakes that you’ve made? Do you ever relive those stupid moments in your mind
and regret the things that you’ve said or done? Do you wish you could live
parts of your life over again and avoid causing the problems or even the hurt
that happened to other people? Me, too.
It’s sometimes hard to
come to terms with our imperfections and foolish ways. It’s not easy to get
over the guilt for the wrong or shameful things that we’ve done. And it’s
difficult to deal with the times when we should have said or done something to
help someone else, but we were too scared, too busy, or too proud to do it.
I used to think that the
older I got, the more that I’d be able to handle the past and because I would
be chronologically distant from those moments, I would be able to shove them
aside. But that’s not true because the closer I get to being face-to-face with God,
the more I know that He knows everything about me from the day of my birth to
the time when I will die.
It could make me despair,
but then Jesus interrupts my melancholy and reminds me of His role as Savior.
From the riches of God’s mercy, Christ applies grace to the moments and
memories that keep me awake. He not only saves me from my sinful past, He
rescues me from my hopelessness, so that when I do meet God face-to-face,
Christ will be standing with me as my Savior, my Advocate, and my Friend.
Q: What regrets do I
have about my life? Am I ready to let Jesus apply His grace to those moments?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we all
make mistakes; we all experience shame; we all do foolish things. Save us from
ourselves and graciously forgive us. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.
Pastor John Stuart
www.erinpres.org
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