I Think I May Have Messed Up…Again

“He has done this so that every person would long for God, feel their way to him, and find him—for he is the God who is easy to discover!” – Acts 17:27 (TPT).

Do you know that draining feeling of longing to get it all right but failing? Needing everything to fall into place, but everything is mixed up? It often prompts the question: yes, I know God loves me but does He love me right now because, well, things are a bit of a mess. 

We all tend to want to keep things picture-perfect. But in spite of our best efforts life is fraught with messes of all shapes and sizes. Decisions you regret, a job you drag yourself to every day, illness, financial struggles, packed schedules, and alike can make life messy. Our lives today seem to be about running to the next event or managing the next crisis while desperately trying to hold all of the pieces together. But here’s the thing: your mess does not surprise God. In fact, that’s why He sent His son to earth. We are all in need of a savior.

Sometimes I think we fail to accurately see how God sees us. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” When we are consumed by rules and expectations and our mess, we are not walking in His grace.

Grace is a gift most of us don’t quite know how to take. Culture instills in us the whole idea of give-and-get and work-and-earn, so grace seems too easy and counterintuitive. But it is grace alone that has the power to transform lives. 

1 Corinthians 16:23 says, “May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.” Paul normally closed his letters by saying, “Grace be with you.” (for example 2 Corinthians 13:14, 1 Thessalonians 5:28, 1 Timothy 6:20, Philemon 25, Galatians 6:18, Colossians 4:18) Paul is an unlikely candidate for accepting the grace of God. Paul spent years persecuting the church and killing Christians. That was his mission. But Christ appeared to him, forgave him, and saved him.

From then on, Paul was focused on the grace of Christ because he knew he didn’t deserve to be called a child of God. But Paul was not unique. None of us deserve to have the Son of God go to a cross and die an excruciating death so that we might be saved. When things are messed up is when we need to remember the price Jesus paid in giving us something no one deserves—forgiveness, salvation, grace, and eternal life.   

When life is a little messy, we need to trust God. We need to learn to find God in the mess. Trusting that even in the chaos and mess, He knows the plan. It’s not always easy. But no matter what mistakes we have made, there is always enough grace.

Discussion Questions:

1. How does your life display God’s grace? 
2. God’s grace is costly. How does remembering the great cost of God’s grace empower us to live today?