May #jammed: Growing Grace.

Day 138: Fear is weak.

“an immoral woman is a narrow well.” Proverbs 23:27

“Did you have fun?” I asked my daughter after she rode the tallest roller coaster she is permitted to ride at her height.

“I closed my eyes the whole time,” she said, pale as a ghost.

It took her the entire summer to open her eyes for the entire ride. When she finally let herself see what was happening, it wasn’t as scary.

The verse from Proverbs today is not one I would have ever chosen to write on, had I not set out to cover the “thirty wise statements.”

Sometimes, when we face the things we are the most afraid of, they become a little less scary. This verse is about an immoral woman. Who wants to talk about that? That’s scary, because I can relate to her. Maybe in facing it with you, here today, the fear of my past mistakes will lose a little power over my life.

The end of my first marriage planted a seed of fear in me concerning what the Bible says about divorce, and what people say about divorced people. The fights in those two brief years were awful, and I ran into the next chapter of my life before closing the book. Divorce and adultery. All of the sudden I wasn’t good enough for the church I grew up in, and that made me question my faith and my worth.

My life today is a testament to God’s grace and blessing, not my good choices. Re-married ten years this summer, I know that a lot of the problems we have today are still remnants of consequences. But I have also experienced the forgiveness and healing of Jesus. Our blessed life is a result of His good grace. In dying on the cross for my poor choices, He lent me another chance at life.

Mistakes can’t be erased, only souls redeemed. When I watch bad things happen to good people, I know I deserve it over them. My mistakes are on the list of top Ten Commandments never to break. If you join me in that club, I want to encourage you today. Jesus isn’t keeping score, so throw the tally list of mistakes away …amplify His voice over all others …and grab onto His hand for dear life. He will pull us out of the well.

Father, Praise You for redeeming us from our messes. Thank You for sending Jesus to die on the cross so that we can be redeemed and restored. Forgive us for letting fear take root in our hearts because we are afraid You won’t forgive us. Strengthen us to trust You. Help us to have faith. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace! 

#greatgrace17

Happy Restoring,

Megs

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