“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6 (ESV)
I crawled into bed with a smile. Everything was carefully planned out. Tomorrow was going to be great! I was going to get up extra early to exercise before church. Nothing was going to stop me.
Or so I thought…
In all my planning, I had left out a significant detail. I forgot to set the alarm on my phone. Instead of rising early, I woke up late. There was no way I was going to squeeze a workout in. I would have to run around like a madwoman just to get the kids and me to church on time.
By the time we made it to church, I had managed to make one kid cry and the other one angry. It was not the morning I had in mind. Instead of starting the day off right, I felt like I couldn’t do anything right. I wondered, “How could God use someone who couldn’t get it together?” All I wanted to do was go back to bed, pull the covers over my head and start over.
Learn from your mistakes, but don’t let them define you. –Tweet this!
God doesn’t hold our mishaps against us.
Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us that His love and mercy never ends. They aren’t going to suddenly run out if we mess up. God isn’t going to quit on us because we forgot to do something, nor is He going to forsake us because we had a bad day. God loves us, and because of that love, He will continue to perfect us until the work he began in us is complete.
There will always be crummy days, but we don’t have to let them define us. We can choose to see our mistakes, mishaps, and shortcomings as opportunities to grow.
Can God use us despite our mess? Yes, He can! We will never be perfect—we will always make mistakes. But Jesus is perfect (1 Pet. 1:18-19; 2:22 ; 1 John 3:5; Heb. 4:15; 2 Cor. 5:21). When we allow Him to fill in our gaps and work through our mistakes, others will be able to see His love and mercy shine through us. All we have to do is run to Him and allow him to do the work in us that only He can do.
Prayer:
“Lord, we thank you that your love and mercies never end. Your word tells us that you will complete the work you began in us (Philippians 1:6). May we always have a heart that is willing to be molded and perfected by you. Please help us to see our shortcomings as opportunities to grow. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!”
Digging Deeper:
Are you in a mistake-making rut? If you’re not in one now, chances are you’ve found yourself in a mistaking-making-rut at some point in your life. Click Here to read Five Things to Remember & 25 Bible Verses to Reflect On when you feel like you can’t do anything right.
Thank you for following along today. I hope you are encouraged to see life’s little mishaps as growth opportunities. ~Kelly
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I so needed to hear this today…..I have dug us into deep debt I cannot pay due to feeling sorry for myself due to my health deteriorating rapidly and painfully. My marriage in non communicato mode and avoidance every time I try to love on my husband. My Family disowning me, my children hating me due to the lies my mother told them. My family torn apart by my mother’s actions. For most of my life I have felt like I would never get anything right ever…..
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But Healing has been coming to my Soul this week of pain in my body. It has drawn me closer to my loving Father who cares deeply for me and Loves me no matter what. So I will pickup my Sword and do battle on my knees. I will keep my Hope in God. My God is bigger than my mess and I pray that He will turn it into a message that will inspire others to keep moving in towards God and to keep moving forward by letting go of the past.
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You can get to know me for the time being until I switch platforms at https://masqueradingcrafter.blogspot.com
I have called My father who molested me from ages 5-31. I have forgiven him and wept with him as I told him I loved him after not speaking to him for 12 years. All due to reading a passage I have read many times before– but this time I saw it in a new light– with the help of John MacArthur in Parables….Luke 10 about the Jew and the Samaritan. Please forgive me Mr. MacArthur if I quote you too much…..
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I saw it in it’s historical and cultural context and that these two people were in fact mortal enemies. The Jews would go out of their way to avoid the Samaritans as they saw them as lesser than themselves and would even kill them. But when this Samaritan saw the bloodied and wounded Jew he only had compassion, mercy and grace and love for this wounded man, his mortal enemy (this is the kind of love that can only come from have a deep personal revelation of Christ himself as Jesus heals your wounded heart.) This Samaritan used his most expensive oils, wine, and bandages that were to last him on his trip which was fraught with danger from bandits, robbers and just plain wicked people to treat this wounded man’s wounds. Then he gave up his only ride to the wounded Jew and walked as he took this wounded man to the next town to an inn. The Samaritan spent the night with this wounded Jew caring for him and then the next morning when he departed he paid quite a pretty big amount in those days to care for this wounded Jew and then told the inn keeper that if he had to spend more than that that he would make it right the next time through this town.
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Would you do this for your mortal enemy? God tells us to do so as he has told us to “Love our Neighbor as ourselves.” If it were us laying on the ground in this wounded condition would we want people to just pass by on the other side instead of helping us? Think about it through God’s eyes before you answer. Did not God die for everyone? Our enemy is seeking to kill, steal and destroy and this enemy is not ourselves, our family, or even our enemies in the flesh but the darkness that resides in the wicked places in the heavenlies.
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I am truly finally at peace…..
Hi Karen! I’m glad you were encouraged by this post. I’m sorry to hear about the situation with your husband, mom and children. I’m praying for God to do a mighty work in all of those relationships. Remember that You are loved by a mighty God who created you for a purpose!
I love this “Our mess is His message”! So true. I have been really reflecting on His mercy being from everlasting to everlasting and His love being steadfast and abounding. Thanks for linking up with Grace and Truth.
Thanks for stopping by Aimee!
Kelly, Oh man can I so relate to the disruptions and mishaps! I can’t tell you how many mornings I’ve had start out just like that (ehm, maybe even this morning). 🙂 But this, this is what I will cling to from now on: “When we allow God to fill in our gaps others will be able to see His love and mercy shine through us.” SO SO good! Thank you for sharing! Praying Psalm 90:17 over you!!
I love that verse! Thank you so much for the prayers. 🙂