The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. Psalm 23:1-3
A couple of ladies in one of my Bible study groups have had workmen at their houses this year. If you’ve ever had people working on your house you probably have already conjured up the trials and delays you experienced. It seems inevitable. So often promises are made and quickly broken from timeframes to costs. One of these ladies missed Bible study to be at home for a painter, who had not completed the work the day prior. The next day the painter arrived only to tell her he was going to another job instead and just needed to pick up his ladder. After multiple delays the painter fired my friend. Yes, you read that correctly. After asking him to give her a better idea of the actual timeframe the painter called her up and said he couldn’t work with her!
Thank goodness when we need work done on our hearts and minds God is a much more trustworthy repairman! Today I praise God for refreshing us, for fixing our missteps, for repairing our souls.
I was recently talking with a friend about forgiveness. And what came out of that was the need not only to forgive but to ask God to help repair our hearts and minds of all the negative associated emotions. Forgiveness is not an easy task when we’ve been hurt, abused, taken advantage of, or even when things or people are taken from us. And so, we give it to God to help us forgive. I wonder however, how often when we forgive others do we have a residual bitterness or pain or guilt left in us? I find this is often the case for me when it comes to having to forgive myself. When something triggers a bad memory I cringe a bit and that demon called “guilt” or “shame” wants to raise it’s ugly head.
God doesn’t want us to just forgive but to live a life of forgiveness – a life free from that guilt and shame and bitterness. All of it. Not one single tiny pocket of it left in our hearts.
Psalm 51 has so many great prayers to God for restoration and healing. Here’s a couple:
Verse 2: Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
Verse 7: Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Verse 12 — Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
God has a 1-800-Repairman hotline. He not only answers 24/7 He jumps into action when needed. It’s time to ask God to completely remove those the negative emotions from our past. To be completely renewed. To be completely healed.
A Christian is not a man who never goes wrong, but a man who is enabled to repent and pick himself up and begin again after each stumble – because the Christ-life is inside him, repairing him all the time.
C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity
Isn’t God so loving, so unique in this trait? He lives as our own mini-repairman right in our souls. We don’t need to wait for the next appointment (in 3 weeks) or be disappointed when he doesn’t show up. All we need to do is ask God to fix us. And even if we aren’t sure exactly what the problem is, if we ask him to make a diagnosis He will – free of charge.
I know that I will mess up and break some things in my life. I also know that when I gave my life over to Christ I got a lifetime warranty. All repairs covered upon asking.
emboldened.net 