He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our offenses. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.  Psalm 103:10-12 HCSB

The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.  Psalm 91:1-2 HCSB

And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:4 ESV

 

Some of the biggest mistakes I have made in my life have been those times when I thought I had it all under control. It has been during those times when I thought, “I’ve got this.” Then it all blows up in my face.

I have told you before that I lived many years of my life like those poor Israelites wandering around in the desert trying to get to the Promised Land. They spent 40 years making what should have been about a 14 day trip. Now it’s easy to Monday morning quarterback the whole thing and think of how you could have done it better. I have done this many times while reading about those poor Israelites. It took me years of wandering around aimlessly to realize that I am just like them or at least I used to be.

You see I lived my life for many years needing correcting. I had let intentional sin into my life and tried to justify it. I had to surrender to God in order for Him to correct me and clean up the mess I had made.

I had lived my life that way for many years. I wanted God’s strength and power and protection, but I wasn’t always willing to trust Him and obey Him. I just wasn’t willing to surrender to His correction. I didn’t think my sin was “that bad”. I didn’t think I really needed Him to erase it all. I thought I could handle it.

The first thing we must all come to realize is that we are dirty, rotten sinners. Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Once we realize this, we need to confess our sins and earnestly repent. We need to ask God to come into our heart and help us be strong to get rid of any sins that we have been willingly committing. We need to continually pray to God and ask that He fill us with His Holy Spirit to strengthen us to obey God’s commands. We need to put away anything that gets in the way of time we should be spending with God. We must be in a close enough relationship with God so that we can feel that gentle nudge when we are doing wrong. We must be willing to accept that correction and get things right with Him.

But the wonderful thing about that correction is that it leads us into the Promised Land of His protection. As we see Him protect us and learn to rely on His guidance (Proverbs 3:5-6), we learn to trust in Him. We want to obey Him because we have experienced the wonderful peace and joy that come with obedience and trust.

This is when God can begin the process of perfection in us. Perfection is a process that is only completed when we join our Lord and Savior in eternal glory. If you have not begun this process, then I must ask, what are you waiting for?

Confess your sin and repent so that God can correct you and erase the mistakes you have made. Choose to dwell in the shelter of protection that He provides. Allow Him to begin the process of perfecting you as he readies you for an eternity in glory with Him. Accept His correction, live in His protection and submit to His process of perfection. You will be so glad you did. Don’t take my word for it, try it for yourself.

Have a great day!