I Blew It!预览

Day 7: “Turn the Page.”

Welcome to the final day of the I Blew It! plan. I hope that so far, you’ve gained a deeper understanding of God’s Word and His plan for your life.

On our seventh and final day, we’re talking about turning the page of our failure.

Let’s be honest: we may have been in the prison of the past for so long that it has become familiar . . . and even comfortable. In fact, we’ve learned to live there—it’s our new normal—and we can’t imagine ever being free. Shame has become our constant companion. It dominates our inner thoughts, but we never want to talk about it because we don’t want to feel vulnerable again. Shame thrives in secret, the place where it grows and festers, but we don’t even admit the place exists. The messages it whispers and shouts are in our own voices, “I’m not good enough, and I never will be.” “If people knew me, they’d run away or laugh—or both.” “I’m just playing games in relationships because I’m terrified that people might see behind my mask.” “God has great plans for other people, but not for me.”

I know that’s the kind of self-talk people suffer from because those are some messages I’ve spoken to myself. But hope is a powerful healer. With even a little hope, we can begin to believe that God adores us, and He still has a wonderful future for us. Believe it. It’s true. It’s time to turn the page.

When Moses was full of self-doubt, God assured him, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain” (Exodus 3:12).

The presence of God changes everything, but only to the extent that our view of God matches the reality of His grace, goodness, power, and purposes. Because God is perfect and infinite in all of His characteristics, we’ll never have a full grasp of His nature, but the Scriptures give us directions, so we can correct misguided assumptions. Some of us focus primarily on God’s commands and the requirements of obedience. We may try really hard to measure up, but in our honest moments, we realize we fall deeply short. When we think of God, we think of Him scowling. Others assume God is preoccupied with more important people and events, and He’s not really interested in us. When we think of Him, we see Him yawning or distracted. I love Paul’s prayer in the opening chapter of his letter to the Ephesians. Paul knew that we’d need a clearer picture of God’s magnificent love and power, so he prayed:

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” —Ephesians 1:17-19 (NIV)

Isn’t that what you and I need: for God to enlighten the eyes of our hearts, so we can see Him more clearly, trust Him more fully, and follow Him more gladly? As our view of God becomes clearer, we don’t see Him scowling, and we don’t see Him disinterested. We see Him delighting in us! Later, in the same letter, Paul explains that God’s grace changes our identity, so we’re His “handiwork,” or as another translation puts it, we’re “God’s masterpiece." We’re not castoffs; we’re God’s treasures! To be sure, sometimes, it feels like we’re alone and forgotten. When the people of Israel felt that way, God reassured them:

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.” —Isaiah 49:15-16 (NIV)

God forget you? No chance.

Are you ready for God to break the chains that have kept you imprisoned in your past? Are you ready to turn the page and see God do magnificent things in you and through you? Be honest about your reluctance, your doubts, and your fears. Take them to God, and trust Him to give you promises from His Word that will strengthen your resolve. Don’t look at your qualifications or your failure to qualify; look to the Father who has qualified us by our faith in Jesus to be whole, strong, resilient, joyful, and effective as we trust God to use us in the lives of those around us.

In Ephesians 3:20 (NIV), it says, “"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." What’s the biggest dream you can imagine about how God can use you in His kingdom? Seriously, take a moment and think about it. Got it? Guess what. You just undercut God. Your greatest and grandest ideas don’t compare to God’s limitless plans and resources. God is not limited to working with our imagination. He goes well beyond it—immeasurably beyond.

Thank you so much for reading the I Blew It! plan. For personal stories of failure and redemption and God doing big things in my heart and life, check out my book, I Blew It!: The Biggest Mistakes I’ve Made in Ministry and How You Can Avoid Them by going to I Blew It!.