Whether you keep track of all that’s happening in the world right now, or try to protect yourself a bit from it, I think we’re all aware of the heartache and devastation that surrounds us in more ways than we can count. Some is on a national stage such as the vicious Russian attack on the Ukrainian people. Some may be more personal to you as you deal with individual crises or challenges.
I have often told people the world feels completely upside down right now. And in so many ways it is. But we really shouldn’t be surprised by this. The Bible even alludes to it in Isaiah 5:20:
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
It’s not a pretty picture, is it? But I’m convinced that this is where we are. Obviously, this isn’t the good news I promised you in the title!
First, a brief good news reminder related to the heartache and the angst that may be surrounding you now. God is still sovereign over EVERYTHING! He’s still on his throne. He is still working GOOD through every evil you see around you. He’s not surprised by anything happening in the world. Period.
That reality is a whole blog series unto itself. But it’s NOT the good news I want to give you today. And frankly, this news isn’t directly related to the state of the world. But it’s a biblical truth that transcends the junk we’re faced with daily. And it’s the kind of good-news reminder we need BECAUSE of what our world looks like now.
I’m talking about that fact that, if we are a believer in Jesus Christ and his atoning work on the cross for our sins, then we are washed completely clean from anything that causes us guilt, regret, embarrassment, sorrow, or worry. There’s freedom from any other unhealthy emotion that holds us back from living the grace-filled life that God wants for us, and Jesus died for. The penalty for all our sins has been paid through Jesus’ death.
This is NOT an easy concept to accept. Perhaps easy to understand. But deep down we believe it can’t really be true. We can’t get our heads around the fact that Jesus’ death and resurrection completely paid for all of our past, present, and future sins, big and small.
Who does that? We sure don’t! It’s WAY too easy for me to hold on to any and all offenses I believe others have unjustly leveled at me. And I want to hold onto the guilt and regret over all that I’ve done wrong in the past and present.
I think that’s why we humans have such a hard time grasping this biblical truth. It doesn’t seem logical or rational.
But God tells us that his ways and his thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). BIG understatement!
So there is this built-in tension between what God clearly tells us in the Bible, and what we humans want to attain through our own efforts. It’s the epic battle between God’s grace and human effort.
This is how I picture our surrender in that battle. We live our lives with the full knowledge that God is a loving father, not a punitive one. We move forward with the complete understanding that he’s not just waiting for us to mess up…again. Because even THAT sin has been paid for.
We let go of that guilt and regret over the past, and that fear and dread over the future. Because we trust the faithful God whose hands they are in. In short, we live in freedom from all that can hold us back to live a fuller life for Christ.
And when we sin, because we WILL sin, we can humbly, but confidently take that sin to God in repentance, knowing his forgiveness and love cover it every time.
THIS is how I WANT to live my life. I don’t want any of my junk or the world’s junk or YOUR junk to hold me back! I want to be used as fully as possible for God’s purposes.
But the reality is that I’m just not there yet. It IS the desire of my heart, but, as I said earlier, it’s an epic battle. Satan wants to win this battle. Let’s not give him even the smallest victory.
Every time I want to DO something to earn God’s favor, I want him to remind me that it’s not necessary. He even calls our good works “filthy rags!” (Isaiah 64:6)
Of course, DO those good deeds, but understand that they buy us nothing when trying to achieve God’s favor for ourselves.
The concept of God’s freely given grace is one of the linchpins of the Gospel. If your desire, like mine, is to live more fully in that reality, then we all have to continue asking God to change our hearts to live out this good news. It’s HIS strength that will give us the ability to do this well.
I don’t expect any of us to nail this 100% of the time. My prayer for myself and all my fellow believers is that we add even 2% greater understanding of God’s grace. Then add 2% more. Over time, God’s sanctifying work can help us live out this truth.
And as he does his work in us, we can be a more effective witness to this world around us that is hurting so deeply. There is hope beyond our circumstances.
For by grace you have been saved through faith.
And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9