And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Gen 1:2)
It’s difficult to imagine beauty in the midst of great darkness, but that is exactly what God is asking us to do in our own lives and the lives around us. We are to rise up and overcome great challenges and set backs that have left many hidden in pits, trapped in webs of deception and even locked away in prisons or our own mental cells of hell. Anyone that has come out of those circumstances can tell you that there was a time when they didn’t see any light or way of escape, and it is in that moment that all seems lost and hope has departed.
Out of desperation, people grasp in the darkness for something not yet seen or known to them when they cry out to God for help. Some have fallen so far below that they can’t even find the strength to speak the words, “Help me, God!” My heart hurts just typing those words, because I know the suffering and torment that brings a person to that place of deep anguish in the soul. Not knowing if there is a God, and believing that even if there is a God, how could He ever hear the cry of one that never even cared to know Him?
When the words just won’t come out, but the thoughts begin to drift through the mind, “What if there is a God? Maybe if I promise to change, He could forgive me?” Those thoughts are usually met with the voice of the enemies taunts, “God would never forgive you! You think God would really listen to you? You don’t deserve to even ask for help! This is your mess, you deserve everything that you got! You are a loser! No one cares about you!” Unfortunately those thoughts are often louder and much more convincing than the thoughts that question if God is willing and able to help.
The truth is that God is good ALL the time. His goodness doesn’t change with our behavior or circumstances. He is unchanging and His love is everlasting. He longs to help each and every one of His creation. In fact, God is so good that He will begin working out a rescue operation before you ever ask or pray. Just because we don’t know God, doesn’t mean that He doesn’t know us. He knows all of His creation right down to the number of hairs on each of our heads, so take heart my child. God is always for you, and He will NEVER be against you.
God has a beautiful plan for each and every life, but it takes free will to step into that life. We make the choice to grab ahold of the good life, or to reject God and continue down the path of destruction. Even the wealthy and seemingly wise man that never bothered to know God will eventually come to great ruin. It might not be until his time on earth is up, but when he could be passing into his eternal life with the beauty of God’s Kingdom welcoming him, he is instead met with utter darkness and eternal torment of being apart from God. When he dies, so does his wealth and great wisdom. He can’t take anything that he collected for himself on the earth with him, and what happens to all of those great riches of materialistic things he piled up? They are all given away, and ultimately they will all end up in the hands of God’s beloved children.
How do I know that? It is all written in scripture. In fact, everything that you could ever need to know is found in God’s Word. It is more than an outdated, dusty book to store family photos or death certificates. It is the spirit-filled, living word of God. The words are filled with life that come into a person and begin to transform their thoughts and attitude toward God and man. A living, breathing document that just sits on a shelf waiting to bring life to anyone that will take ahold of it.
Everyone loves a great blockbuster movie about a Superhero saving the world, or an epic love story that ends with a giant wedding. While others might prefer a full on battle and blood, action-packed, war film, or a deeply complex drama with interwoven story lines and plots that all play out simultaneously and yet somehow all come into one place at the end, so if you enjoy any of those, you will be thrilled to know that all of them could describe the Bible. Just like the Word of God can be described in any of those genres, so can the manifest Word of God, Jesus Christ. He is an immortal being that died for all of our sins and came back from the dead, he is our peace and our hope, he is a victorious warrior that fights our many battles for us. He intercedes with prayers for us, and he loves you so much! He is the kindest, most awesome friend that you could ever have, but still the bravest, most powerful and mighty Lord that has all authority in heaven and on earth.
God is love, and His love is perfect. It doesn’t change, it doesn’t fail, it doesn’t defile and it lasts forever. In fact, every promise in God’s Word He fulfills.
You might ask, “Why don’t I see those promises in my life then?” I can’t answer that, but ask God, and He will make sure that you get an answer. Many times people have not repented for the evil that they have done or are still doing. How do you repent? “Father forgive me and wash me clean of all my wrongs. Give me Your Holy Spirit to help me do Your will and be made righteous through your power” What is considered evil? Evil is hating any human being, having unforgiveness for others or yourself, harming others with your words or actions, speaking evil (anything that is against God’s Word is evil and is speaking in agreement with the Devil).
If you want the promises, you have to know what is actually promised or you won’t know what it is that you should have. Many many many people have allowed their blessings to be taken by the enemy, and the sad part is that they don’t even realize what it is that they lost.
It is not a joke to God or any of Heaven when a person loses out on blessings or walks away from a calling, or even worse blames or rejects God for their own plans. God loves everyone. He is a God of compassion and mercy and steadfast love, but the people don’t always receive what God has for them, because they don’t understand God is trying to bless them, and their own words stop the blessings.
When people speak lies (I am so unlucky, I will never get a good job, I always fail, I am too old, I am too fat, I am too stupid…) they allow the enemy to keep them locked into those words. What they should say is, “God said that I am His Beloved Child, and He prospers everything that I put my hand to! He heals all of my sicknesses and forgives all of my inequities! I am blessed and highly favored! Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. If God be for me, who dare be against me! No weapon formed against me will prosper!” Just to list a few possibilities of good, spirit-filled life words from the Bible. So if you are stumbling around in life, how about you turn on the light and that darkness will flee so fast that you won’t know how everything went from chaos to clarity, but you will finally see when you ask Jesus to lead you every single day! Turning on the light is as easy as 123…Jesus Save Me! That is a good starting point. If you think you were saved years ago, but have never known Jesus in your life, it is time to recommit yourself to actually giving your life to Christ fully. There really is great reward and benefits to being reconciled back to the Father and living in the awesome blessings and love of God. He directs your steps, He opens doors of opportunities that no one else can, He gives you His Holy Spirit and you have all wisdom and understanding living on the inside of you, so you never have to be left out in the dark again. In the words of One Republic’s singer, Ryan Tedder, “Come Home, ’cause I’ve been waiting for you for so long…”
Grace, Mercy & Miracles 