IS YOUR PRESENT MESS TOO MESSY?

“GOD made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him.” – 2 Samuel 22:21 (MSG).

David is a paradox — a mix of the good, the bad, and the ugly. He is a great hero of the faith whose Psalms speak of passionate worship. He performed heroic deeds, including killing Goliath. In 2 Samuel 22, David speaks of a passionate relationship with God. But then we have Bathsheba, Uriah, and Absalom.

In 2 Samuel 22, David records his thoughts, which seem a bit self-serving. While David was called a man after God’s own heart, he was neither a perfect man nor a perfect king. So, how can we account for David rejoicing that he was righteous and clean before a holy God? The righteousness David experienced was righteousness given to him and anyone else who put their faith in God.

We need to remember the story of David and others when life becomes messy and when things become more than we can handle. If we could only see ourselves as God sees us. Jeremiah 31:3 says, “…I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.”

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 doesn’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 despite whatever we face. 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.

God permits you to be yourself. You don’t have to put a tarp over the mess.  You are not too messy for God. He specializes in making old things new and transforming messes into things of beauty.  So, trust Him with your mess. Show up in His presence with your mess… your whole mess, and let Him show you what He can do. The great news is that God can do beautiful things with a broken life when you give Him all the pieces.

2 Samuel 22:21 says, “GOD made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him.” We can lean into Him and experience true change that turns our mess into a message to others — the message that God is able.

Discussion Questions:

1. How did He change you from mess to a masterpiece? How has God made old things new in your life?