"My Father...is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand."
John 10:29
Two nights ago I had a conversation with a friend. This friend is someone I haven't known very long, but she means a ton to me. She has been through more than most people will ever have to go through, but her story is one that screams HOPE. Her story isn't finished yet, but I am so grateful that God allowed her story to mingle with mine. This girl is the bravest, strongest person I have ever had the privileged of meeting, but on this particular night, when this conversation took place, she was extremely discouraged. Seeing someone way stronger than me, yet on the verge of giving up is a scary thing. But as she spoke, the words coming from her mouth began sounding way to familiar. It reminded me of all the times I had messed up, I had known the truth, but I was unwilling to let it set me free. Until two nights ago I had always seen my relationship with God as something that I could lose. I had believed that salvation was not something you could earn, but a free gift, yet deep down I was terrified of messing up, of doing something wrong enough to be separated from Him. In my mind I had placed a limit on how much He could forgive me.
Now this is where what I am trying to convey might get a little complicated, but please don't misunderstand what I am trying to say. God is pure and He is Holy, and it is true that He can't stand sin. Sin is the complete opposite of His being. But what I (and my friend) hadn't realized is that if we have a relationship with Him and yet fall into sin, it doesn't separate us from Him. He is still there. He is still our Heavenly Father. Yes, seeing us in sin breaks His heart, and no, we can't be living life in sin and think that it won't hurt our relationship with God. But as soon as you fall, in that instant He is right by your side, just waiting for you to give Him the okay to pull you back up into His arms. My friend was delaying getting right with God because she was ashamed. She "knew" that He would forgive her, but she was scared. I knew exactly how she was feeling, I had felt that way many times before. The feeling that you have messed up so badly that you put off getting right with Him because you don't even know if He is listening to you anymore. But two nights ago, God showed me and this friend that that is completely a lie from Satan. When Jesus died on the cross, He cleansed us from all our sins, not just some, not just the ones we committed before we meet Him. When you except Jesus into your heart, you are not only excepting His forgiveness for past sins, but you are excepting His forgiveness for the sins that you have yet to even commit. As soon as we establish a relationship with Him we are pure, we are white, we are clean. Nothing we have done and nothing we will do will ever be able to change that.
*Deep breath* :) My God is amazing. Just to clarify a bit, if you are a believer forgiveness is something that you have already received. But there is something called the fear of the Lord. That is something that is vital to a believers walk with God. That is what keeps us on track with Him, moving forward. It's not the fear of passing a certain limit of forgiveness, but it is having a fear of losing the intimacy of a personal relationship with God, a relationship that holds no competing affections and no sinful habits.
I apologize for my lack of writing ability. My closing thought is this: I hope that you have found this post encouraging! I write of mine and my friends experiences in hopes that you will be able to live life without finding yourself where we found ourselves; believing Satan's binding lies. A special thanks to my friend for her allowing me to share! Babe, God has done a beautiful job writing the last chapters of your story! Don't ever be discouraged, He has chosen you. :)
Please! :) Be encouraged!
In His Arms,
<3 D
