Jesus is in the redemption business, even for you.

I love questions!  Recently a friend of mine asked one in response to my post, God Has Called You.  “What if a person is where they are because of mistakes they have made; are they still where God called them?”

What a great question!

In Scripture, we see that sometimes we DO get in hard places because of our own decisions. That doesn’t necessarily mean God “called” us to make mistakes and end up there, but He IS “calling” us to be faithful to Him in whatever situations we find ourselves, even if the circumstances were the result of our own mistakes.

Think about it.  Peter denied Jesus, and Jesus loved him anyway and used that failure as the fuel for Peter’s passionate commitment to Him later in life. David sinned greatly with Bathsheba and in having Uriah killed (2 Samuel 11), and even though God allowed consequences for David because of his choices (2 Samuel 12), God also used David’s repentant heart to not only lead Israel more faithfully, but to write some of the most beautiful Psalms we have, so that millions of people throughout history could be encouraged (Psalm 51, especially.)

Part of the Good News of Jesus is that He is in the redemption business, using even our deepest failures for His glory and our joy in the end.  He doesn’t call us to stumble, but when we do, He DOES call us to turn away from our sin or look up from our wounds, take His outstretched hand and let Him lift us back to our feet again, this time with a story to tell of His faithfulness.

Wherever you are, whatever you do, THAT is a mission from God!