God’s Not Mad at You

Today's Precious Prodigal's Post = http://bit.ly/1VNyUaF Like what you see? Please "Like" & "Share" with your online friends. Want to read more? Go To: preciousprodigal.com

Today's Precious Prodigal's Post = http://bit.ly/1VNyUaF

Title: God’s Not Mad at You

‪‪#‎bruisedreed‬ ‪#‎TrustGodsheart

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Please "Like" & "Share" with your online friends.

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Isaiah 42:3 “A bruised reed he will not break...”

When a prodigal is wreaking havoc in our lives, it’s just a baby step for the things that are happening to affect our faith as well as affecting our lives. And why would that surprise us? Maybe we didn’t consciously think that our living for Christ would guarantee our loved ones would love the Lord and live for Him too. But we sure were shocked when it didn’t turn out that way, weren’t we?

There we stand, our dreams for our kids in ashes, our marriage destroyed by an unfaithful spouse or facing abandonment and rejection by people we loved and trusted. Who could blame us if we begin to ask God and ourselves why these terrible things are happening? Is it because of some sin in our past or some sin in our lives now? Did we cause this, and is God punishing us? Is God mad at me?

From there, it’s only another baby step for us to walk away from the Lord, the only One who can give us any real comfort or peace in our circumstances. It might only be that we stop having our devotions and give up on praying. Maybe we stop singing in the choir or teaching Sunday School. We might even stop going to church at all. Some of us go even further, falling into sin ourselves. If any of that has happened to you, you’re certainly not the only one.

Loving a prodigal can change us in ways we never imagined…until we don’t even recognize the person we’ve become. And before we realize it, we’re living out the words below from “How Can It Be,” sung by Lauren Daigle.

I am guilty

Ashamed of what I've done, what I've become

These hands are dirty

I dare not lift them up to the Holy one

I've been hiding

Afraid I've let you down, inside I doubt

That You could love me

But in Your eyes there's only grace now.

Are you thinking that God is mad at you and has turned His back on you? May I tell you that this is perhaps the most vicious and brutal of all Satan’s lies? And it IS a lie, and he IS a liar…in fact, John 8:44 says “he is a liar and the father of lies.” Again and again in Scripture, we are reassured that God is gracious and compassionate and longs for us to return to Him. (Joel 2:13)

If you are anything like me, you’re probably weary from carrying the weight of loving a prodigal. It’s a hard path to walk, isn’t it? Jesus invites us to, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,” and He promises to give us rest for our souls. (Matthew 11:28-29)

God’s not mad at you, my hurting friend. He knows you just as He knows me…intimately, inside and out, and He remembers that “we are dust.” (Psalm 103:14) God recognizes that we are “bruised reeds,” hurting, struggling, not knowing where to turn. And His promise to you and to me is that, “A bruised reed he will not break...” (Isaiah 42:3) When you cannot see God’s hand, you can trust His heart.

Challenge for Today: What might happen if we, just for today, remembered that God’s not mad at us?