I’m God’s Mess: Hope for the Imperfect

“At that time you were without Christ…But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away

have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

+Ephesians 2:12-13

I’m God’s Mess: Hope for the Imperfect

Will I ever be free? Will I ever change? You’ll never change! It’s hopeless. You’re too far gone. Have you ever thought these thoughts? Felt this way? Me too. Having gone through many different struggles, I am reminded often of this truth–I’m God’s mess. I struggle with sin just like any other believer, and moreso in certain areas than others. One area I wrestle with is shame. Maybe you can relate. Shame is the voice inside your head that holds a record book of sin over you. It holds you captive to your own mistakes and keeps you from moving forward. Personally, I wrestle with many things–depression, an overactive mind, judgmentalness, pride, being a man and feeling inadequate to serve God. This is my unique mess I wrestle with every day. We all have a canvas of struggle God has given to us. The question is, how will you handle what God has given to you? How will I handle the stresses and sin struggles God allows in my life? From personal experience and, more importantly, the Word of God, I want to offer some hope.

Hope for the Imperfect

We are all a mess. God’s Word confirms that all human beings are sinful to the core. Our hearts are selfish and broken (Jer. 17:9). Our minds are sin-stained and self-absorbed (Rom. 7:18-25). Our lives are marked by pride and God-amnesia (Paul Tripp). This seems like really bad news doesn’t it? In one sense it is. We are all in the same boat. Now here’s the good news. For all the misfits out there (like me), God offers us hope. Although we are all, apart from Christ, hopeless, helpless and desperate, in Christ we find hope, help and fulfillment. I’m encouraged that in my unique mess, Jesus meets me with arms of grace. We can say with the Apostle Paul, it is “but by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Cor. 15:10). By God’s amazing grace we are placed in the safe arms of Jesus. He embraces me in all my mess and paints a beautiful picture of grace. My job is not simply to clean up my mess. It’s to let Jesus mold me into his image. And this divine interaction is what shapes my life. This truly is hope for the imperfect.

Reflection Questions

What messes do you find yourself in right now? What is your canvas of struggle? Have you allowed Jesus to take your sins and struggles and to make you more like him?

*Photo by Jeremy Yap on Unsplash