God is in the
Destiny-Altering and Reputation-Changing business. Do you sometimes feel that through poor
choices you have squandered your opportunities to live the life you once
dreamed of? Is your life full of guilt and regret? Do you sometimes wish you could
turn the clock back and start over?
Unfortunately, you can't
relive your past. But your past does not have to determine your future .
Turn your future over to God and He can turn it around. He can alter your
destiny and change your reputation. Just consider Jacob, the “deceiver,” who
cheated his brother Esau out of his birthright. Later, however, he wrestled
with God, who changed his name to Israel, “prince of God”, and who made him
the father of the nation that bore his name. Then there's Moses, a murderer and
fugitive in the desert whose destiny was altered at a burning bush. His
encounter with God changed him into a deliverer who freed a nation from
slavery.
Do
you feel like you have messed up your life? God can straighten things out and
set you on the right road. There is no sin so great that God's grace is not
greater still. No hole so deep that God's love cannot reach you and pull you
out. Remember that one day of favor can be worth more than a lifetime of labor.
At the same time, one day of favor can change a lifetime of
mistakes, bad choices and missed opportunities .
Fortunately
failure does not disqualify us from enjoying the love and favor of God. Often
we fail to realize our full potential because we don't understand the full
range of what God has placed within us. The story of the entire Bible is the
record of God's plan and efforts to reverse that failure. God could have
written us off and started over. But He didn't. He loves us. He created us in
His image. That's a lot of potential in Him and through Him, and He is determined to see us through and fulfill it. God's grace and favor
bases on relationship and our fellowship with Him not on anything we do or fail
to do. We all have failed to fulfill our God-given potential, but God never
gives up on us!. What dreams and desires has God planted in your heart? He
wants to see you achieve them or He wouldn't have placed them there.
God
chose you for the potential He placed in you. He keeps you because of His
passionate love for you. He loves us so much that He can't stand to have us out
of His sight! This means He will never abandon you. He will never give up on
you. He will never rest until He elevates you into the fullness of the person
He created you to be. Don't settle for less than the best. Be all that you can
be!
Sound
scary? Take heart from this promise: “You are My servant, I have chosen you and
have not cast you away: Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am
your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with
My righteous right hand.”
What
dreams and desires has God planted in your heart? He wants to see you achieve
them or He wouldn't have placed them there. As He did with Esther, God has a
unique and special destiny for you; He has something in mind that only you can
do. It doesn't matter how many times you have failed. God's plan and destiny
for you never change. No matter where you are in your life, He can help you
become what He has always wanted you to be.
Don't let the shame or
discouragement of your past rob you of your future. Turn to the One who can
alter your destiny and change your reputation. Let God turn you around!
Father, I know I have made
a lot of bad choices. I've messed up my life in many ways. But now I'm turning
it over to You. Take control of my life and my destiny. Turn me around and set
me on the road to the destiny You have always had for me. Let my life be a testimony
to Your transforming power.
Father, I am truly amazed
at how You can love me so passionately, especially when I've failed you and let
you down so many times. Show me who I truly am in You. Stir in my spirit the
dream and destiny you have planted there. Help me move forward toward becoming
all I can be in You.
Lord, thank You for
welcoming me into Your house. Thank You for forgiving my sins and changing my
life. Forgive me for judging or ranking others by human standards.
I am eternally grateful to
You for all that You have done for me, but I want to move beyond that level. I
want to enter the heart of worship
Father, You are awesome
and beautiful beyond description. My God, my Father, my Creator, my Sustainer,
my Provider, my Healer, my Redeemer and my Friend, I love You. You are worthy
of all praise and glory and honor and power and wisdom and riches and strength!
Your Name is above all other names. Your mercy is so great and Your love is so
deep. I exalt You!
In my Father's Love,
Joel Harahap
