Do you ever wish you could start all over? Do you wish you could go back to a time before you made that bad judgement call, back to the time before you got off track and just begin again?
Maybe you didn’t realize that Jesus was there for you. Maybe you knew Him but you never really focused on Him. You thought you could handle things pretty good on your own.
Maybe you didn’t realize you were at a fork in the road until you had already taken the wrong path. In retrospect, you realize it now. You can see that there were small choices that slowly lead you down a specific path. Everyday there was a choice and somewhere along the way you made a few wrong turns.
Do you ever wonder if you had started your days back then talking to Jesus and asking for His guidance, if he would have steered you in a different direction altogether…Or would He?
Maybe you had to travel your path to get to where you are today. Maybe your heartache was part of your journey. Maybe your journey was specifically planned by our Creator so that your life experience, when shared with others, could move them to repentance and toward a renewed life in Christ.
I didn’t always believe that every situation and circumstance in my life had a purpose. I spent years feeling guilty and ashamed for past mistakes. But the more I stay in God’s word and spend time alone with Him in prayer, I am realizing that every step of my colorful past had a purpose and it is all part of God’s magnificient plan for my life.
As Romans 9:21 (KJV) points out, “Hath not the Potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?” I believe my days of dishonor were for a purpose. His purpose. I believe He knew the paths I would take and allowed them to happen. I believe He had a purpose for my past, which was to set me up for my future.
1 Peter 2:9 (NIV) tells us “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
Jeremiah 18:4 (KJV) also reminds us: “When the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in the hand of the potter, he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.”
I believe I was once a marred piece of clay, with words and actions that did not reflect I was a child of God. I also firmly believe that because my heart was open to hear His voice, that I was called out of the darkness into His marvelous light. I have been renewed, reconstructed by the Potter’s hand. I am a new vessel to be used solely for His purpose.
If you feel marred and ashamed by your past, The Potter can make a new vessel of you too. Maybe you don’t need a Do-Over at all! Maybe you just need to embrace the road that you’ve travelled, in all of it’s inequities and splendor, knowing that God has a plan and He intends to use it for your good.
The Potter has a purpose for all of His children. He has a purpose for every heartache we’ve experienced and every heartache we’ve caused. We may have to go through several valleys in order to find it but His unveiling will reveal that everything was meant for good and nothing is ever wasted.
That made me cry…..I just want to be able to find some peace with the mistakes I’ve made. I pray now for HIM to show me a new path, one that will make HIM proud. I’m glad to know, that no matter the depth of our uncleanliness, only Jesus has the power to wash us white as snow. I love to read your thoughts…
Love Always,
Karen~~~
God is so good! His love for us is truly amazing. He not only loves us when we are at our best but He died for us when we were at our worst! Love you, Marie Elaine