My Story Your Glory - an Eight-Day Reading Plan by Matthew WestSample

My Mess, Your Message

I’m good at making messes. Just ask my wife! I’ve spent much of my life in hotel rooms, and sometimes I come home from the road and forget I’m not at the Hilton Garden Inn. Emily quickly reminds me that dirty clothes go in the hamper and not on the floor by the hamper. Yes, I might make a mess around the house, but she refuses to let our house stay a mess.

My ability to make a mess goes beyond laundry. Life can get messy, and if left to my own devices, I can land myself in a mess of a situation. The Bible is filled with stories of people who were good at making messes, too. The woman caught in the mess of adultery. Zacchaeus in a mess of lies and dishonesty. David caught in a mess of temptation and sin. Jonah in a mess because he ran from God’s calling. The list of mess makers in scripture is long, and you and I are no different.

Got any messes in your life? Poor decisions, addiction, adultery, dishonest dealings, lying, secret sins, pride, anger? I’m willing to bet that there might be at least one mess you’ve got at any point in your life that you’re unsure how to clean up. Take comfort in discovering that in the Bible, God did not allow any of these people to stay in their messes and be destroyed. He’s not willing to leave you in your mess, either!

Here are three things you can do when you find yourself in a mess:

1. Realize that God sees you and that nothing is impossible with Him. “With God nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37).”
2. Be willing to surrender your mess. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).”
3. Be willing to leave your mess behind. Jesus’ message to the woman caught in adultery was this, “…Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more (John 8:11).”

Fern Bernstein wrote, “Only God can turn a mess into a message, a test into a testimony, a trial into a triumph, and a victim into a victor.” God sees your mess. He’s not scared of it. And He refuses to let you stay in the middle of it. Ultimately, He can and will deliver you. Moreover, He can use your mess to proclaim His message of love and deliverance. Nothing is wasted when it is placed in God’s hands. Even the messy parts of your story can give God glory.

DO SOMETHING:

1. Do you find yourself in a mess today? If so, ask God to step in and turn it into a message of His love and grace.
2. What messes in your life has God turned around? Take time to praise Him for all He has done! Share this devo with a friend!!