This Mess Is Too Messy

“I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power” – Ephesians 1:18-19

Things are good; your relationship with God is great, you have economic freedom, a loving relationship with your wife and picture perfect kids. Life is good right now. Really good. If so, praise God. Keep doing what you are doing. Ride the wave and enjoy it.

On the other hand, maybe things are not going so swimmingly for you. Things went sideways. You know what it is like to be sick and tired of being sick and tired. Your life has been a series of highs and low, but lately you seem to be spending a lot more time in the valley than on the mountaintop.    

The Bible tells us that our lives are messy, busy, and sometimes chaotic. The reason our lives are messy is that we are messy and sometimes hurting or broken. It is at these times when we most need God. Here is the most amazing thing about God’s love and grace: God didn’t come to judge our mess; He came to clean up our mess if we trust in Him. And there is no mess too messy for God to cleanup if we give Him the opportunity.

Jesus is not afraid of our mess. Over and over in the Bible, we see Jesus moving and involving Himself in people’s messes and miraculously coming through for them. Whether it was a blind man beside the road (Luke 18: 35-43), a woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11), or a lame man lying beside a pool (John 5:1-15), Jesus stepped into their situation and showed them that His love was more powerful than their problems. And He is bigger than the valley we find ourselves in today. God didn’t love us from a distance. God stepped into our messy world to save us and set us free. He wants to be in it with us and help us in the midst of whatever we are facing. He didn’t encourage us to clean ourselves up or command us to try harder and live a better life. By sending Jesus, God ran into the mess for us. Jesus did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves. God didn’t just step into the world 2,000 years ago. He is ready and able to step into what we are dealing with right now…if we let Him.

Discussion Questions:

1. Is there a time when you fell short of your own standards? How did you feel? What did you do to try to clean up the mess you’d made?
2. What can we do this week to reduce any mess in our lives?