We have a saying in Celebrate Recovery. God never wastes a hurt. He never wastes a tear. He takes the things that have troubled us, that have injured us, that have caused us pain and he uses them the help us encourage others. He gives us the ability to show others the hope we have within by how he has affected and improved our lives, encouraging others and giving us worth at the same time. He gives us usefulness in our shortcomings and in that he continues to move us toward his perfect idea for our lives. With some of us, that process can take longer than others.
C. S. Lewis writes about this in his book, Meer Christianity. God is like that parent watching his toddler trying to walk for the first time. He watches with hope and anticipation and ….ooooooooh. Okay, try again, you can do it, you can get up, you can ….oooooooh. That’s alright, one more try. Just one foot in front of the other…..oooooh. God encourages us and accepts us without accepting our shortcomings.
Lewis then writes about how the Holy Spirit works on us. We invite God in to our cottage to do some repairs on it. He fixes the plumbing and patches the roof and we are satisfied and happy. Then he starts replacing windows. knocks out a wall and starts building on another wing. We start to get nervous and tell him we are satisfied and he can stop at any time. Next thing we know, he is building a new entry way and adding a courtyard with a garden. You see, when we invite Jesus to live within us, he does not want to live in a cottage, but in a mansion. This can be scary to us because we are happy to have him fix the big things in our lives, but sometimes we want to hold onto our pet weaknesses.
Because of the perfect plan he has for us, he works with us until we can reach his ultimate goal. So strong is his desire that be all that he wants for us that he suffered and died on a cross. It is for that reason we take this time to recognize the sacrifice he made for us.
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