God’s Solution for Our Failures

“God canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14 NCV). You and I both blow it from time to time. We don’t have to live with guilt, but we do have to live with our mistakes. 

The Bible never hides this truth. It is painfully honest about the failures of its heroes. God saved the world from flood through a man named Noah

who then got drunk, naked, and blew it all. 

Moses led the children of Israel through the Red Sea and into freedom—yet his anger kept him out of the Promised Land. King David was a man after God’s heart but also had an affair and murdered the woman’s husband so he wouldn’t be discovered. God realizes our frailty. If he only used perfect people, the Bible would be a pretty short book. But, God has a solution for our failures: grace. 

The Bible says, “[God] canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14 NCV). In fact, if you look at all those failures in the Bible, you get a clear picture. Just like those heroes of the Bible, you and I are trophies of God’s grace. Your primary witness to the world around you isn’t all the great things you do for God. 

It’s how you handle mistakes you’ve made. Do you mope or do you revel in the grace of God? People want to meet a God who turns failures into triumphs. People want to meet a God who can transform the lives of broken people. The amazing part of God’s grace isn’t just his power to forgive. It’s also the strength he gives us when we start over.

(4 Key Steps to Overcoming a Repeated Sin Habit )

God is the Greater Force Most of us know what it feels like to be alone in the dark. If you ever had to take the trash out late at night or found yourself stranded alongside a road at night, then you understand – your mind can create hidden shadows or images. 

Before you know it, the hair on the back of your neck begins to rise. However, if you turn on a flashlight your fears quickly fade because the light exposes the truth. In Psalm 23, David wrote about a time when he was sure that he would lose his life. It was a season when he walked “through the valley of the shadow of death.” 

(v. 4) Yet, he was not afraid because he knew the One who walked with him had the ability to bring light to the darkest situation and exchange his worry for faith. When you face worrisome difficulties in your life turn to God’s reassuring and never-ending love. When you awake in the middle of the night to the whispers of the enemy’s lies – remind yourself that Christ overcame and you will also.

 Proclaim what you know to be true! In essence, David said, “Though I walk through the threat of death, I will not fear because my Lord is with me.” God is the greater force and He loves you with an intimate, personal love. Even though life may become dark, His light continues to burn. There is no darkness that can quench the light of God’s love. 

You have no reason to worry – God is with you! Be encouraged, Tony Evans Do Not Worry! There are struggles in life that can become emotional strongholds – things that hold you hostage and keep you from wholeheartedly serving and trusting God and experiencing the abundant life He has promised. One of the most damaging strongholds is worry. 

It is available for every age and is an obstacle to moving forward. When it is a stronghold in your life, it is a way of life. People cope with worrying in a number of ways. None of these remedies work because the panic still sets in. In Matthew 6:25, 31-34, Jesus stated three times, “Do not worry!” The Greek word used for “worry” is the concept of being strangled or choked. It leaves you frustrated when you ought to be free and if you are His disciple, then you should stop it. 

Worrying is a sin because it is doubt in the power and goodness of God. Some people don’t like to call worrying a sin  they are just “concerned” about something. How do you distinguish concern from worry? Legitimate concern is when you are in control of your thoughts and feelings and illegitimate worry is when the matter controls your thoughts, actions and emotions. 

Jesus said, “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 

Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” (Matthew 6:25-26) The reason we worry is that we are focusing on the wrong authority.

 If our Father feeds birds that have no soul, how much more will He take care of us since we are worth even more to Him? Remember His promise that He will never leave you nor forsake you as the first antidote to worry. 
By/Dr.Tony Evans