There has never been a moment that I have regretted giving my life to Jesus.
NEVER.
I have lost friends, family has become distant, strangers have insulted me, and even those in the house of faith there are those who do not understand me.
No matter the circumstance, words that were spoken to me, some words that were never spoken at all (silence never explained), God has given me his heavenly peace.
Worldly insults may build. But, I am wrapped in Abba’s heavenly love.
Even if you are surrounded right now with what seems like darkness, the Lord is a light for you.
Even if everyone has left you, your heavenly father never will.
He hears your cry for help and is responding.
He knowns the tears you’ve cried, he has kept them in a bottle for the day of his judgment.
He wants to exchange what you’ve been feeling from all the rejection for his complete and total acceptance.
There is nothing like the Love of God.
For more encouragement like this, follow @letlovebemymotive on Instagram.
Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 5:20-21 NKJV
It is so important when we are viewing ourselves and others that we remember that grace and mercy are purely gifts given unto to us through the love of God💜
When you specifically study the life of Saul before he was Paul, his sin was great. However, we know that Saul’s heart was transformed and he is now known as Paul.
The love of God and grace and mercy of Jesus Christ has the power to transform our mistakes and past sins into a testimony for HIS glory👌
His love has no bounds🙌
We are to remember that where sin abounds, so does grace👏
&
We are all in need if his saving grace!
Find more Devotions like this by following @letlovebemymotive on Instagram!
“Wisdom makes the wise person stronger than ten rulers of a city. There is certainly no one righteous on the earth who does good and never sins. Don’t pay attention to everything people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you, for in your heart you know that many times you yourself have cursed others.” -Ecclesiastes 7:19-20 CSB
This is one of those verses that is JAM packed full of goodness. The whole bible is great, but there are some verses that I feel like you can chew on for a week and get more and more out of. This is one of those meaty kind of verses. I am only going to focus on one angle of this verse and that is that we all fall short. Hence, the title of this post!
Yes, we all fall short.
I think that almost all of us know that we are not perfect and that we all miss the mark. But, there are sometimes where we can get caught up in how far we have come rather than who brought us the growth. On the other end of the spectrum, oftentimes we beat ourselves up so bad for NOT being perfect and falling short. Does either one of these resonate with you? Then keep reading!
There are two points I want to focus on in these verses:
There is certainly NO ONE RIGHTEOUS on earth who does good and NEVER SINS
When you feel like pointing out other people’s flaws, God gently reminds us of the times we have missed the mark.
If you have a relationship with God and Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you are righteous through the spotless blood of the lamb. You are in right standing with God. To think you are never going to slip up and miss the mark or never say a word you shouldn’t have, will quickly bring you to a place of perfectionism and condemnation. Which is not healthy!!! We are all at different places in our walk with God. Be careful not to compare, because comparison is a thief of joy. This verse in Ecclesiastes makes it crystal clear that you can be righteous and still miss the mark. Doesn’t that make you so thankful for God’s grace and mercy!? It is undeserved and unearned. Refuse to live from a place of condemnation and embrace the grace and mercy Jesus died for you to have. Do not get so caught up in what you’ve done wrong that you miss the freedom found through Jesus.
Has there been a time you where you feel like pointing out what others are doing wrong and how they have missed the mark? I think the end of this verse shows the heart of God and gives us a perfect situation to relate to.
We all have a time in our life where we have overheard someone talking bad about us. Ouch, I know it stings. The first thing our flesh wants to do is bring back the old us and show them who is boss and point out what they are doing is wrong. But, God shows us here when we try to point out what other people are doing wrong we are to remember the times we missed the mark. Because remember, NO ONE even if they are in right standing with God is perfect. Yes, we are covered in the blood of Jesus and we are forgiven. But be careful to not get caught up in what you’ve done, when in reality we would be no where without Jesus!
This is what makes God’s love so vast. He loves us despite our actions. He loves us because he is love. He is faithful because he is faithful and true. God does everything out of his abundance and WHO HE IS, rather than his love being based on what we have done or not done. We all fall short, however, God is there to clean up our mess and love us where we are at. We are all growing! Do not be too hard on yourself and do not be too hard on others. We are in this together! Despite if you have done either of these or maybe even both, God’s love for you remains the same. There is a very known verse in the bible that states “Give and it will be given back to you”. This is not only concerning money, but this concerns grace and mercy too! Want peace? Sow peace! Want love? Sow love! We all fall short, but GOD loves us right in the midst of our mess and we are to love other’s and our self with the same heart!
God loves when we follow the plan he has for us, especially since he knows what’s perfect. He loves when we earnestly seek to do his will. He “delights” in our every step. He is well pleased.
There have been times where I have had to make a BIG decision. I prayed and got impatient, later realizing I had made a mistake. I still thought that it was God’s will. However, later I realized I had made a mistake that caused me to stumble. I did not wait long enough for him to bring clarity. Yet we see, that even when we stumble there is abundant grace and mercy. He is ready and willing to lift us up when we stumble.
Do you remember when you tried to ride a bike for the first time? Your parents let you try without training wheels? If you were like me, you ate the gravel. I mean, I stumbled hard. I was a bloody, bruised, beat up, wanted to give up kind of mess. Just as my earthly Father saw what had happened and helped me up, God will lift you up when you stumble. He is much better than your earthly father. He is your cheerleader. He was delighted you wanted to please him! He lifts you and says, here my child try this.
God sees the desire in your heart to do his will and live out his plan for your life and that pleases him. He is delighted you a pursuing to be obedient. Even if you stumble, he is there to lift you up. He is proud of you! So dust the gravel off and keep riding.
Please take the time to prayerfully read through this scripture before reading the post:
Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm? My servant grew up in the Lord ’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave. But it was the Lord ’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord ’s good plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels. Isaiah 53:1-12 NLT
As I read this chapter, I cannot help but be emotional about what Jesus had endured for us to be whole and healed.
I reflect on the fact that he had done absolutely nothing wrong, never decieving anyone, never sinned, and suffered the worst kind of death for us. Jesus did everything out of the abundance of his love and still does today.
Take a moment to reflect:
Can you imagine being falsely accused and going through a crucifixion? Being alone and laying down your life for those who won’t even acknowledge who you are? Laying down your life for those who ultimately betrayed you?
Not forgetting to mention, Jesus even though he was oppressed and suffering, stayed quiet and did not speak a word.
I think this speaks volumes about how we are called to live. Jesus being our perfect example, never complained and only spoke out of love.
Most of us, myself included, complain on a daily basis. The weather is too hot, too cold, ect. Yet, Jesus going through the worst suffering all alone and not deserving it, chose to be quiet and endure.
This blows me away and also convicts me to ask Holy Spirit for help. I need his help with complaining (which is the absence of thankfulness) but to also help me be quiet when I suffer. If I cannot say anything in love or thankfulness, it is better to say nothing at all.
Many times love comes in the form of correction. As I have been meditating on this, Holy Spirit has gently corrected me and showed me areas where I need to be more diligent and seek him in. But the reason why it made a difference is because it was done in love.
A question I had for God was how did the Lord endure such gruesome suffering and not complain or speak?
Lets be real, humble, and transparent. I have a hard time not complaining about the weather and when someone does me wrong I even have had the urgency to lash back. But Jesus, he doesn’t do this. How!?
If you read there is a verse that he pointed out to me that changed my perspective not only on suffering but the love of Jesus.
“When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels”-Isaiah 53:11-12 NLT
First, Jesus was not focused on his anguish and his suffering. He had the eternal perspective that what he was enduring was worth every ounce of pain he felt. When we are suffering we are not called to focus on the things of earth but the things of heaven.
Second, his eternal perspective was a relationship with us. Jesus suffered to set us free, make his whole, and for our healing.
I am in awe that he not only stayed quiet during the trials because he only spoke in love and thankfulness. I am also in awe that his eternal perspective that gave him the strength to endure the worst kind of suffering was his love for us. Yall I am in tears writing this.
My prayer for you today is that even if you are suffering, being falsely accused, feel alone, and are being rejected. You remember that Jesus knows how you feel and died for you to be whole and healed. I pray that you forgive as freely as he has forgiven us. I pray that he puts a door over your mouth so you may not speak thoughtlessly and you always speak the truth in love or do not speak at all, following his perfect example. I pray that you continually get a deeper revelation of his love for you and your grab ahold of his love that makes you whole and healed.
ABBA, I thank you for sacraficial servant love. I can only pray that we follow your example. I thank you for your mercy and grace and that you have died to make us whole, free, and healed. There is nothing you will not do for us. In Jesus name, Amen.
