When I mess up, I find comfort and encouragement in peering down the halls of time...seeing how God forgave and redeemed and used others who also messed up.
There was Abraham, who tried to help God keep His promise by having a son with his wife's servant, instead of trusting God to give him a son through Sarah. God was faithful to His promise, even though Abraham didn't wait for Him. Grace.
There were the Israelites...how could I pick one incident?! The whole of Exodus is filled with their grumbling, complaining, disobedience, and lack of faith. God could have wiped them out, but He didn't. He disciplined them, yes, but He also provided for them when they deserved absolutely. nothing. He gave them water and manna and quail in the desert. He kept their clothes from wearing out. For forty years. Grace.
There was David, guilty of murder and adultery. God could have tossed him aside, but he didn't. Instead He continued to use David to lead His people, and inspired him to write a number of songs and prayers which continue to encourage and teach us today. Grace.
There was Manasseh, arguably the wickedest king of Judah. Yet 2 Chronicles 33:12-13 gives us this beautiful testimony: "Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God." Grace.
There was Jonah, the unwilling missionary. God saved him from the storm (which was a direct result of his disobedience and could have easily taken his life) and gave him another chance to preach the message he'd been given. Grace.
There was Peter, who in spite of grand affirmations, denied the Lord when push came to shove. God still chose to use him greatly in the early church - and to write two letters which we still have today. Grace.
So today, let's celebrate the God of second chances (and third and fourth and four-hundred ninetieth chances).
Let's celebrate the grace that redeems, restores, and makes beautiful our broken pieces. There is hope in that grace - hope for each of us, no matter where we are.
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