Fresh Word of Restoration

There are times in our lives when people or situations ‘pop up’ seemingly out of nowhere that bring a fresh insight or word of encouragement just when we need them. These are ‘divine appointments’ I believe God brings to us. He gave me a fresh insight through the words of another Christian blogger and His holy word this morning. I relished it over and over. I had to read it several times to make sure I was getting what I thought I was getting from it. It was so simple, so pure and so…GOD…that I thought surely I was reading more into it than was actually there. I was wrong. In its simplicity, the complexity of pain, angst and ugliness of human sin melted away. I was set free from a lifetime of feeling inadequate and ‘not as good as’ because of sins done against me.

We are unable to purify ourselves from the stain of our sin; and only He can heal us of the shame of sins against us. There are the words that moved me so this morning. Only He can heal us of the shame of sins against us. Intellectually, I may have known that but this morning it penetrated deep within my spirit and touched the wounded soul within. I wore a robe of shame most of my life. My first awareness of this rag was as a child in elementary school when my brother and I were the only kids from a divorced family at our new school in small town Texas. We were different and we knew it. It felt ugly and shameful. I was eight years old when I first believed I wasn’t as good as the other kids because of it.

Sin is a give and take ordeal. We do it; it is often done to us. Even if it wasn’t your “fault”, the sins done to you can leave you under a heavy weight of shame and filth. It is no easier to bear as an adult than a little girl, the rag grows heavier. You wish you could wash yourself both from the outside and from the inside… but you can’t. You’re not able to. God Almighty, however, can. He is able to purify us, both from the sins we have committed and from the shame and pain left by sins that have been committed against us.

Jude 24-25 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

God is all-powerful. We might try to describe that with all sorts of theologically sounding words or with earthly analogies, but the fact is this: He is able to do far above and beyond anything that we can imagine or think—He joyfully presents us blameless before Himself because of who He has made us to be in Christ. I had full understanding, trust and belief that He has cleansed me from MY sin and I knew He used me for His purposes in spite of myself; that is even part of my testimony when ministering. I completely believed He used the ugliness of my life to help me witness to others and was grateful for it. Knowing He used it for His glory, turning the evil for good made it all worthwhile in my mind. ‘He is able to purify us…from the shame and pain left by sins that have been committed against us’ was my gift and lesson this morning.

Never think you have such knowledge of the Word of God that you can’t learn something new, fresh and timely. It truly is too incredible to fully understand. What can we do but kneel with our hearts and hands raised toward heaven in worship and thanks?

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, today, I thank You for the amazing grace You have poured out on me. Thank You for cleansing me of my sin. Thank You for healing me from the sins committed against me. You and You alone are worthy of glory, majesty, authority, and worship. I give that to You now. Amen.