A friend of mine recently shared how she spent a great deal of her life living far from God. Over time she realized that her way of life wasn’t working…at all. Feeling she needed more information about God before she would commit to him, she started asking me questions and trying to figure out her life. She knew the beginning point would be understanding who God is and what Jesus Christ did for her. She needed answers, and wasn’t even sure what the right questions were? It wasn't long before she realized that she had commitment issues. She had never actually surrendered her life to God, because she knew that if Jesus has been raised from the dead, that fact changes everything. Jesus was more than just a good man…He was the Son of God.
My friend decided she wanted to confess her sin and receive God’s forgiveness and start a new life. But she wanted this change to be really clear. Here is what she did: she said, "God, I want you to know that I'm leaving my old life behind. I'm leaving behind my old sin. I want to be forgiven. I want to be your child. I want Jesus to be my forgiver and my friend and my leader."
My friend made a very important life decision. She felt so many times like she was drowning. She felt like there was no end to the problems and difficulties in her life. She felt like she couldn’t keep her head above water.
Author John Ortberg writes: “Years ago, while on vacation, we were staying at a hotel with a swimming pool. Our two daughters, Laura and Mallory, were five- and three-years-old at the time. I was standing in the pool, and they were taking turns jumping to me. I had to warn them both, "Do not run around the pool. If you run, you could slip and fall into the water, and if you do that, you might drown. That would be really bad. I don't want you to drown." Apparently these warnings were scarier than I had intended. At one point, while Laura was jumping into the pool to have me catch her, Mallory slipped and fell into the water. She went all the way down to the bottom for just a second or two before I reached in and pull her right back to the top. When I pulled her out of the water, she was sobbing. She looked up at me with these big brown eyes and said, "Oh, Daddy! I drowned! I drowned! I drowned!" I said, "No, Mallory, you didn't drown at all. That is not drowning. You didn't even come close to drowning! You weren't even within a mile of drowning. So let's not tell Mommy about this. Mommy probably wouldn't understand what I know, which is that your father was watching you the whole time, and in the moment that you slipped under that surface that was so scary for you, my arms were right there with you, and they were plenty strong enough to pull you up out of that water. You were perfectly safe, more alive than ever."
More alive than ever!!! Isn’t that what we all want? Jesus died on a cross for you and I, and rose from the grave three days later, defeating death once and for all. The story of the resurrection is not just good news; it's true news. And when Jesus says, "Whoever lives and believes in me will never die," that is not a metaphor or some vague hope. It means that death has no power to take us from the arms of the Father. We are more alive than ever! Guilt cannot separate us from God. Nothing can! Whatever we have in our past cannot separate us from His love.
Are you scared? Devastated? Frightened? Lonely? Depressed? Burdened? Guilt-ridden? Anxious? Tired? Given up hope? Whatever your circumstance, you can turn to Jesus and give it all to Him. He will give you rest. His arms are plenty strong. They have not lost any of their power, and they will pick you up. ~ cathy
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