Love Like You've Never Been Hurt By Jentezen FranklinSample

Day Five

Don’t Give Up on God Because He Never Gave Up on You

Scripture:  Isaiah 42:16, Psalm 9:10

God is not in the business of replacing damaged people. God is in the business of fixing damaged people. He does not want to get rid of us. He wants to change us. He wants to heal us. He wants to transform us. He wants us to live out the message of the cross.

A story is told about a man parked on the side of a road. His car had broken down, and he had the hood up, trying to figure out the problem. A limousine pulled up behind him, and a man got out. Dressed from head to toe like a million bucks, he walked over to the driver of the broken-down car and asked, “Do you need help?” The man, of course, said yes. The man from the limousine tinkered around with the engine a bit and, to the other man’s surprise, the car started right up.

The car’s owner was beyond grateful, and he asked how much he owed.

While there are many variations of this story, I heard one that included this response: “Nothing. I’m Henry Ford. I’m the creator of this car. It really bothers me to see one broke down on the side of the road, not doing what I created it to do.”

God doesn’t just ride by in His majesty and pass us along the side of the road when we have been broken. He wants to stop everything He is doing and come to our rescue. The Creator longs to redeem His creation.

It bothers God to see you not living the life He created you to live. He gets great joy when He sees you overcoming, when He sees you moving forward, when He sees your faith growing.

Do not give up on God because He never gave up on you.

Trust Him today. Love Him like you’ve never been hurt. Whatever you are going through, whatever has happened, whatever loss or pain you feel in your heart, this is no time to quit. Be encouraged. If you continue to trust Him, God will not let you fall. He will not let you stumble. He will not let you wobble. He will walk you out of your desert standing tall.

The Big Idea:  Love God like you’ve never been hurt.