RUBBLE REBUILT

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

It was an interesting night to say the least; lying next to Hillary at the James Cancer Center catching a wink when available.  Before I go further, she is doing well. 

Yet like I believe it is with all hospital stays, it is hard to sleep with the cavalcade of nurses, assistants, blood extractors and visitors parading in and out all hours of the night.  But in spite of all of the distractions and interruptions and both of us being a little groggy this morning, I wouldn’t trade being here with her for anything.

Hillary, my oldest, had to endure the worst of my addiction.  Scary road trips with an intoxicated dad at the wheel, forgotten appointments, missed assemblies and games, not to mention the painful embarrassments.

I am so grateful to GOD for granting me NEW opportunities to be here for her.  But that is what GOD does; He restores things and reconciles things when we come back to Him.

Isaiah 58:9-11

…If you get rid of unfair practices (SIN), quit blaming … and start giving yourselves…Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight. I (GOD) will always show you where to go. I (will) use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past.

GOD is doing this for me; right before my eyes in fact.  He CAN be trusted to rebuild!

At its core, addiction is a disease of selfishness and indifference, of inward focus and blatant disregard for anything other than the compulsion. And as a result many are left hurting in its wake and rubble.  Hillary can speak to that; she lived it. 

But GOD is infusing a new energy and a new hope in our relationship!  The rubble is being rebuilt.

And that is a promise for all of us.  When we go astray, even when we cave to our selfishness and delve deeply into sin and rebellion, GOD will, when we return to Him, go about the business of restoring what we have lost!

Deuteronomy 30:2-4

…come back to God, your God, and obey him with your whole heart and soul according to everything that I command you today, God, your God, will restore everything you lost; he’ll have compassion on you; he’ll come back and pick up the pieces…

That is how GOD works.  GOD is a merciful GOD; a GOD of grace.  GOD is a GOD who is thrilled when we come back to Him and He loves to shower those lost blessings on us HIS KIDS!

For when we choose to be obedient, GOD promises things like reconciled relationships between a daughter and a dad.  If you don’t think so, think again.  With obedience comes mercy and with mercy comes restoration!

Psalm 103:6

God makes everything come out right; he puts victims back on their feet…

God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he’s rich in love.

He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever.

He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.

As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is his love to those who fear him.

And as far as sunrise is from sunset, he has separated us from our sins.

As parents feel for their children, God feels for those who fear him.

He knows us inside and out…

God’s love…is ever and always, eternally present to all who fear him,

Making everything right for them and their children as they follow his Covenant ways and remember to do whatever he said.

I will tell all of you today, this scripture is coming to light as I sit here and watch the sun rise over the capital city this morning; so much so that I am overwhelmed. 

I can’t be more thankful for my merciful GOD who is so full of grace that He is knitting Hillary and I back together again! 

And He will do the same for you and your broken relationships. It begins with obedience and is accomplished through mercy and grace! 

Embrace the promise and you too will be overwhelmed!

Please continue to pray for Hillary as she recovers!

 

Have a blessed weekend!

I love you all!

Freedom Church

 

 

 

Pastor GDelaney