Ongoing and Unchanging

Why has my pain been perpetual and my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will You indeed be to me like a deceptive stream with water that is unreliable? Jeremiah 15:18 (New American Standard Bible)

Perpetual and incurable. Ongoing and unchanging. Do you have issues or circumstances in your life that feel like that this morning? It may be poor health, financial difficulties, habits and addictions, or failure upon failure. For me, it is emotional battles and faulty perceptions. It is the cycle that continues to repeat itself. Short lived victories, repeated desires for change, restated decisions to do better “next time.” Each time I succumb to the pulls downward everything becomes clouded and the view I have of myself, God, and others becomes clouded as well.

Unlike Jeremiah, I don’t see God as One who deceives me or is unreliable. But I sense His displeasure, disapproval, and disappointment. I sense the same from others and at that point, my default mode is to pull away in order to do less damage. My hopes are that I can get away, get my act together, and step forward later on in better shape. All the while hoping the relationships will still be intact but fearing that they won’t be. People are people and their patience and resolve may or may not last. Hence, the war in my mind perpetuates and the pendulum swings between feeling loved or unloved.

God’s answer to me is found in the very next verse, “If you return, then I will restore you.” Returning for me implies getting things right once again with God. Stop running, start confessing, and stay close to Him. Ask Him for truth and correct views. Embrace the forgiveness and mercy He offers. Learn from the mistakes and as verse 19 says, “extract the precious from the worthless.” No matter how deep the sin, no matter how horrible the fall, there is always something precious I can take from the experience.

The precious I am taking is the sense that I am not a lost cause, a ruined vessel, or a hopeless case. As long as I get up one more time than I fall, I am still on the journey and there is still hope for improvement.

Father, I don’t know what others are thinking of me now, but I find comfort in the thoughts You have toward me. I don’t understand Your love but I receive it! Amen.

Unfailing Love - Chris Tomlin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_MyC6kJzPg&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.