A Ruined Life

2 Samuel 14:14

¹⁴ All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him.

Okay, so here’s another of my favorite little Scripture gems, tucked away inside a story in 2 Samuel.  It is always good to read the context, so please do so if you have time.  But my focus is going to be on what this little gem of truth reveals about the Character of God.  Let me start with a story, my story. You will notice that I titled this one “A Ruined Life.”  Well, 4 years ago, that’s what I thought I had, a ruined life.  I had such high ideals, such hopes and dreams, but in a matter of years, it all melted away like wax.  I have been a Christian a long time, but not always a very good one.  I had a lot of insecurity and selfish ambition.  It’s kind of hard to know which was the cause and which was the effect.  I tend to think the insecurity caused me to have selfish ambition, in order to try to prove to myself that I was worth something, that I mattered.  But all of it came crashing down around me, and I lost so very much.  I thought God was really angry at me, that He wanted to punish me somehow for being so arrogant, for thinking more highly of myself that I ought to have.

But what I have discovered is that all this loss was actually the Mercy of God.  Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. That is what the above Scripture says, and I found myself feeling like I was trying to gather up the spilled water of my life, and all of it was seeping into the ground and could never be recovered.  I didn’t think I would survive, but He brought me through.  Next, the Scripture says, But God does not just sweep life away; instead, He devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him.  

Oh, My Precious, Merciful, Heavenly Father.  You did not just sweep my life away, In Your infinite mercy and kindness, you devised a way to bring me back when I was separated from You.  When I was following the wrong path, headed down the wrong road, You turned things around and headed me in the right direction again.  It was not Your anger that allowed all the loss, it was Your Mercy.  Dearest God, if even one person reads this blog entry and is encouraged to not give up, but to believe in You and turn to You in the midst of what they think is their own ruined life, it will be worth it all.  Thank You, Father, for your infinite Love and Mercy. In Jesus Name.  Amen!