No Longer Victims of Our Own Choices
Being in the midst of a heavy-weight trial is never a fun feeling. The only thing that seems worse is when you realize that the trial is self-made. What do we do when we are the victims of our own reckless decisions? After all, we are getting what we deserve; we are lying in the bed we have made for ourselves. Maybe your entire life is one great big self-induced disaster. Maybe your mind is attacked with the thought of serving a life sentence at the hands of your own bad choices. The devil will tell you that you are hopeless. He will say that you have forfeited any help from God because you did this to yourself. The devil is a lonely being that is without hope so he desperately wants you to feel hopeless. But you are not hopeless like him.
God is always for you, even when you brought the trouble upon yourself. Psalm 103:10 says, “God has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” Luke chapter 15 gives the account of the prodigal son who took his father’s inheritance and squandered it on prostitutes and drunken parties. This wayward young man found himself face down in the mud eating with barnyard hogs; without help and without hope. But this young man had a revelation: He said, “I will go back to my father’s house…” He was basically saying, “I am a son, a child of a wealthy man. Surely that is where my help is.” This prodigal son could have felt indebted to this miserable life because he made it for himself. He could have felt at home in the mud. No, we should never feel at home in defeat! Even if we are the source of our own peril. How long will we be content living in the pig pen? There is a Father-God who will pull you out of the mire and love you with a victorious love.
As this young man traveled back to his father’s house, he wasn’t met by a chorus of “I told you so.” The father ran to him with arms extended. The father summoned the best robe and fanciest ring in the house to clad this wayward son. A homecoming party was thrown for the man of self-made disaster. This is what God wants to do for you! God will not remind you of your faults. The moment you decide you want out, God is there. The second you decide that God’s house is better than all this world has to offer, God gets the robe and ring ready. These things aren’t given out of reward; they are given out of pure love. The heart of God is ready to treat you better than you deserve.
Luke 15 also tells us that the prodigal son had a cynical older brother. This brother was critical and offended that the wayward son didn’t have to “work” his way back into favor. Unfortunately, this critical older brother represents the Church. Seldom do God’s people share the Father’s heart. Too often we give people what they deserve when we should have had our arms extended towards those who want to come back. God will forget thousands of bad decisions to bless you for a single good one. We should do the same for others.
Pastor Tim
Family Church Jamestown is a non-denominational church located in Chautauqua County in Jamestown between Lakewood and Busti, NY. The senior pastor of Family Church is Pastor Tim Stahlman a native to the Jamestown, NY area.
