TRANSFORMING TUESDAY: Whenever I Called Out Your Name You Were There...Thank You!

Do you ever realize how many chances God gives us to get right back into his good grace? I'm sure you know someone who has been playing with fire their whole life, but for some reason or another refuses to give their life to God. I will never understand individuals who believe they have "forever" to get right with God. I can never comprehend their feelings of invincibility because as humans we are only but so strong. However, the grace and mercy of God finds a way to intervene just when we feel like we're at the end of the ropes.

I know someone who is always always always in trouble with everybody and everything. They know of God because of the people around them but they never established a personal relationship with God for themselves. It seems like they have escaped everything under the sun--they continuously dodge death bullets. And when they are at their lowest or feel like the walls of the law are closing in on them, that is when they call on the name of Jesus. So what happens next??? God does what he always does and provides them with the grace and mercy to make it through tomorrow. Why??? Honestly I can't say I know why but I can say that God's unconditional love is like no other. It allows him to look past our flaws, our betrayal, our deception, our anger and blanket us with his protection. Thank you Lord for giving us sooooooo many new chances at life.

Today's reading in Psalms 107 talks about God showing up whenever we need him. 

In The Desert:
When there were people who felt like they were lost in the desert, they knew who to call on. They cried out the name of Jesus and there he was. He put them on the straight and narrow path, and he delivered them out of the desert and into a city to  dwell in. Most of the time we know what we're doing when we get ourselves into a "desert-like" state. There is hardly any life in the desert. The temperatures are at each extremes of the spectrum -- extremely hot during the day and extremely cold at night. And then the only access to any type of water is through the subsurface. Have you ever placed yourself in a desert-like state? A state where you needed a renewal of strength, energy, food source, and you needed some protection? I sure have! But what do you do??? For me, I called on the name of Jesus and he gave me my one-hundredth chance at life and he delivered me from the desert. God will always be there, all you have to do is call on him. His love is steadfast.

Sitting In The Darkness:
I'm sure we have all encountered some type of darkness in our lives. There is nothing positive about the dark, except that God will be that light at the end of the tunnel. Darkness is death, it is depression, it is rebellion, it is self-hate, it is destruction, it is not of God, it is the weakness of our flesh. I remember when I went through a dark phase in my life because I was so unsure about my future. That confusion caused me to develop an "I don't care" attitude. I was mean, I was nasty, I was numb. While in darkness I felt like I was in bondage--I was fighting against my own flesh. The whole time my spirit knew what was right but my flesh was trying to overpower that. Just when I felt like I had had enough and there was nowhere else to turn, God had given me my two-hundredth chance at life. When I called on the name of Jesus he shattered my chains of bondage and guided me towards the light. This was something my family or friends couldn't do, it was something that only God could do through me submitting myself to him. When we call he answers because his love is so steadfast.

Even In Sin:
Sin is what separates us from eternal life. As humans we will all sin, but we must repent and make those sins right. Luckily God is so forgiving that all we have to do is ask him for forgiveness (be sincere) and he will give it to us. Sin can place us in the desert, it can place us in the darkness and both places are not where we want to be. Sin causes us to suffer pain that we wouldn't always have to suffer. If we were just obedient sooooo many things could be avoided. Sin isn't determinative, sin is a choice. Collectively we have to make better choices. Even in the midst of us sinning God always comes through. He delivers us from the sin, the thoughts of sin, and the pains of sin. All we have to do is call on his name and he shows up. It's because of his steadfast love.

Prayer:
Lord we humbly come before you to thank you for your grace

and mercy that you have bestowed upon our lives. We also thank you for the countless chances that you have given us although we have deserved none of them. When we are hungry you feed us, when we are naked you clothe us, when we are thirsty you quench our thirst, when we are in the darkness or in the desert you deliver us. Thank you for your steadfast love because without it we are nothing. You are awesome beyond measure and we ask that you lead us away from temptation and keep us in your good grace. Thank you for yesterday, today, and we're looking forward to tomorrow -- another day to praise your holy name. Amen.

Lisa McClendon - You Are Holy

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO TRANSFORM YOUR TUESDAY :)
TRANSFORMING TUESDAY: JAMERA