"He shewed our frailty and our fallings, our afflictings and our settings at nought, our despites and our outcastings, and all our woe so far forth as methought it might befall in this life. And therewith He shewed His blessed Might, His blessed Wisdom, His blessed Love: that He keepeth us in this time as tenderly and as sweetly to His worship, and as surely to our salvation, as He doeth when we are in most solace and comfort. And thereto He raiseth us spiritually and highly in heaven, and turneth it all to His worship and to our joy, without end."
Julian of Norwich (Ch. 62)
We may think that we have made so much of a mess of our lives that we are not any good to anyone, especially God. We may regret years that seem wasted in sin, confusion, struggle or darkness. We may feel too far gone to even be accepted or loved. But God has something astonishing to show us: His love for us and His tender care for us are still the same. God isn't fazed by our messups. Even at rock bottom, when we feel we have shriveled up and feel basically dead, He is there as our resurrection. He is always keeping us in His love. He is always working things out for good. He is always working with His resurrection power to bring hope and healing and life. In fact, He is bringing us to a greater glory through all our messes, bringing us to greater joys, greater revelations of His love, greater experiences of His grace and goodness than we would have known if we hadn't gone through our dark times. Nothing is wasted with Him. He saw all this mess, struggle, and difficulty coming and already worked it out for good, greater good than ever. Our problems, dark times, and even our sins are nothing compared to the heights of glory and bliss we will experience with Him!
"Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us."
2 Corinthians 4:16-17 (MSG)
"Your goodness and unfailing kindness shall be with me all of my life, and afterwards I will live with you forever in your home."
Psalm 23:6 (TLB)
A Prayer: Thank You for working even my failures out for good. Thank You that there is a greater glory coming!