God Does Not Lose

Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

In his book, The Explicit Gospel, Matt Chandler states that "original sin has effects beyond humanity, it effects the world. This rebellion against God disrupts the natural order of everything. People who have Job-like experience may moan, Well, if life wasn't like this, if I had more money, if I had more power, if I had more friends, if I had better religion, if my parents weren't so mean, if I grew up in a different place...What they begin to create in their minds is the idea that a better existence exists somewhere over the rainbow. This place, this world is broken. There's no sense in looking into it for the fix. Illogically, foolishly, we are looking for fixes from broken people with broken ideas in broken places. SIN is building your self-worth on anything but God. From the second we are born, we seek our own happiness. It may look different when we get older, but the desire is always the same, our own happiness, our own pleasure. Happiness is the driven force behind everything we do. When sin entered this world, Romans 1:23 tells us we exchanged the infinite Creator for creation. We began to settle for temporary fleeting pleasures rather than for what is eternal and soul-satisfying. This is madness. It's all meaningless.The majority of human beings believe that people and circumstances exist to make them happy. We believe the brokenness inside will be satisfied with outside things. If we're not happy, who's to blame...people and circumstances. God's plan is to renew and remake, and God does not lose. One of the ways the mission of God to reconcile all things to himself chisels away at the work of sanctification is when we engage with the hurt, the pain, and sorrow of the world around us. When we do that, God shows us our inadequacies, shortcomings, fears and sin. We are shown the areas where we don't trust God, the areas in which we refuse to surrender to God. Grace is a heart changer, because the heart is where behavior comes from. Where ever our heart is, that's where our actions follow. Many times I've found someone isn't broken because they've sinned against God. They are broken up because their sin is costing them something. They are living in a worldly sorrow. They're more sorrowful that their rebellion against God has led to consequences, without the real understanding that they have defamed and dishonored God."


HE is the Potter and is in the process of remolding me.

What I've realized, is this...slowly, little by little, I began losing my walk with the Lord. Sin in this world, in my life, slowly took over me, and my desire again became to seek satisfaction in others, in this world, in my circumstances, because I wanted life to be easy. Trying to walk as a Christian, is well, difficult. I began to feel like maybe I wasn't really up for the task. I became more influenced by seeking gratification from my spouse and others, from the world. I constantly felt judged, because "I wasn't behaving like a christian should". What I realize in MY attempt to reconcile this family and others to Christ, I was taking God's place. I AM NOT GOD. I've tried to convince myself that what I was trying to do was lead everyone to Christ, to get my family to see the need for a Savior. What really was going on...this is just a different look on control.

Do I want my family/others saved, walking in Christ, living in a godly way, seeking Him above all things. ABSOLUTELY! But, I CAN"T CHANGE ANYONE ONLY GOD CAN! I've realized, trying to be God is a task no human can take on, something I no longer want to do. I've really seen how sovereign God is.

The world, my family, myself, is groaning because of sin!!! I am not responsible for everyone's sin. I am responsible for my own sin. We all are suffering the consequences right now as a result of worshiping created things instead of the Creator.  Pete Wilson states, "Idolatry simply isn't a sin. It's what is fundamentally wrong with the human heart. While everything we chase looks good or feels good or taste good, it's also poison to our souls. The real question for any of us is this: Which idol is God's biggest rival in your life."

God is so loving and just.  God brings everything to the light in His timing. He allows us to fall into the pit of despair, to think we can do it on our own, to suffer consequences of our sin, so that we recognize His sovereignty. My situation, right now, reveals to me, that even though it feels as if God is absent in my life, He in fact, is powerfully present. He is in constant pursuit of us, with a purpose to reconcile us to Him. The devil also is in constant pursuit. Crafty, he is. From the beginning he has blinded us through deception. Makes everything pleasing to the eye, convinces us that it's good, and often convinces us it's from God. LIAR!

Sin exist. We are sinned against and we sin against others. Ultimately we must look in the mirror and see ourselves in front of the cross with hammer and nail in hand as we pierce Christ flesh. James 5:16 Tells us to confess our sins to one another, that you may be healed. As Christians God is reconciling us to Himself, by showing us our sin, our brokenness. He also calls us to reconcile to one another, that we are agents of God's forgiveness.

What do I need? Do we all need? To turn back to God. I have given up my role as savior. I can't lead anyone else to repentance, only God can. God will remold everyone, just like again, He is remolding me, so that I/others realize the need for a Savior. That our life gone wrong is because we worship self, and as Matt says...God does not lose. God promises death or life. Both are through Him and from Him. One is a gift given by Grace to which we are unworthy, the other is the wage of sin, turning away from God, and becoming our own god, this death we deserve.

God is just.

He is sovereign.

He will not lose.