One of the
biggest lessons I have learned over the past year is the importance of slowing
down and being refilled and replenished.
I have only been here in the Philippines for about two weeks, but I’m
beginning to see what the effects of my pace can be if I choose to keep
it. With that in mind, I took
yesterday to somewhat seclude myself and spend my time resting and seeking the
refuge that I so need in my life.
One of the things that came out of my day was a greater appreciation for
one big attribute of God. As I was
thinking, this project came to mind and I thought what better subject to write
about than this somewhat new attribute of God I have discovered. I’d like to take one day a month to
reflect like this and introduce you to who God is in my life.
So as I prayed,
the word that kept coming to mind was “redeemer”. Now I’ve heard this word my whole life and I know that
through Jesus, God daily redeems me to righteousness thus the reason we sing
the song “My Redeemer Lives”.
However, this idea of God redeeming and cleansing me from my past sins
was not the idea that struck me, but rather how He can completely redirect me.
I had the
blessing of leading a nearly two and a half hour Bible study with the inmates
this past Sunday on the life of David and what it looks like to be a Godly
leader. We looked through several
stories from his life and one that struck me was the story of David and
Bathsheba. I almost skipped this
one because it throws a kink in my “Godly leader” lesson, but then again, I
guess this story puts God back in true leadership.
It’s so
fascinating how God not only forgives some of David’s “biggest” mistakes, but
also how God redeems these same mistakes.
God doesn’t just condemn David and Bathsheba for adultery, but after
they face the consequences of losing their son and David’s other wives
committing public adultery on him, God totally blesses their marriage by
allowing them to have Solomon, the next great king. Our God can even use our darkness to do great things. Solomon could have been the son of any
of David’s other lawful wives, but for some reason, God chose to bless this
marriage with the heir.
Over the past
couple of weeks, I have had several conversations with people that have walked
through some very dark times. I
think the most exciting thing is that not only have these people stepped into
healing, but God has also redeemed their mistakes in crazy ways. Many of them have been able to do some
incredible ministry with people that have walked through the exact same
darkness and others have had some incredible opportunities open up from these
dark times once they have faced their mistakes and accepted the consequences.
I find it so
fascinating that we serve a God that is in such control, that even our darkest
moments can be used to bring glory to His kingdom. I never want to boast in my past sins, but I’m forgiven fow them and I can now boast in Christ and his redeeming works. I’ve screwed up in my life. However, the good news is that nothing
I have ever done has shocked God or been too big for him to redeem. I am who I am today despite what my
past actions might dictate because I serve a God that not only forgives but
redeems upon repentance.
On this subject,
I’ve been fascinated by Psalm 32.
I’d write it here, but I’d rather you read your own copy because you
might need to do some underlining.
