So my wife and I were headed out to the hot tub this morning to
enjoy the calm weather before the winter storm comes in this weekend
when the stack of firewood out by the fence caught my eye. So I
opened the hot tub cover, sat my orange juice on the rim of the hot
tub as I often do, and began to haul firewood up to the patio so we
would have some during the storm. After a few minutes of hauling
wood, I went to join her in the hot tub, but I totally forgot about
my o.j. and knocked it into the tub. A big cloud of orange-looking
pulpy stuff mushroomed about in our clear hot tub water while my wife
just howled and laughed as if it were the funniest thing in the
world.
“I've been waiting for 11 years for that to happen!” she
exclaimed between bouts of laughter. For it has been that long, ever
since we bought the hot tub, that I have been bringing my drinks out
to the hot tub and she has been warning me to be careful with them.
So she was right, it finally happened, and I laughed right along with
her. It wasn't the end of the world, though, and it wasn't even the
end of our clean water. After a few minutes, the orange cloud had
dissipated as the jets pushed the water through the filtering system
and the water looked clear and clean again, as if nothing bad had
ever happened.
As I thought about the whole incident, it reminded me of God's
grace, and how completely overwhelming and cleansing His love is for
us. Whatever mistakes we make, and even our intentional sins, are
washed away by His redeeming grace like a glass of o.j. in the hot
tub or a cup of leftover coffee thrown overboard into the sea. His
grace overwhelms our sin; his shed blood cleanses us and filters out
our impurities; his love heals us and makes us whole and clean again.
Sometimes this is hard to believe for ourselves, knowing our own
thoughts and actions as we do, and it's even harder to believe for
others who have knowingly and intentionally hurt us or our loved
ones. But God makes it clear in Ephesians 1:7 that He has “lavished
His grace upon us” – filled us to overflowing, overwhelmed us,
immersed us in His grace – and that He did it on purpose, with all
knowledge and understanding, in a way that only He can fully
comprehend and understand.
So the next time you are trash-talking yourself in your own thoughts
and telling yourself, “You will never amount to anything” or that
“God will never forgive you for that one” or that “You have
really blown it this time and nothing will ever be right again,”
remember the overwhelming grace of God and let His love – which He
demonstrated at the cross – wash away your sins and make you whole
again.
If you need God's touch in your life, if you need Him to forgive
your sins and set things right and make you whole again, pray along
with me along these lines, whether it be the first time you asked Him
or maybe the hundreth, “Lord, I need you to come into my life and
be real to me. I need your forgiveness; I need your healing touch; I
need you to set things right. I'm not perfect, I have made mistakes
along the way, but I know that you died on the cross so that I can be
forgiven. Forgive me for these mistakes I have made.... Set these
things right in my life.... Help me to forgive others who have hurt
me....” (Continue praying and talking to God as you feel led...)
This
devotional is authored and published by Randy Brockett. All
publishing rights are reserved but readers are encouraged to repost
(please include this copyright info) or share
his insights with their family, friends, and congregations. For other
devotionals by Randy, see www.blesseddisciples.com,
dwellinchrist.blogspot.com, and www.discoverbiblicalchurch.com.
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