“GOD WILL NEVER ACCEPT ME”
One of the biggest drawbacks of being a human being is that we think like human beings. God has gone to great lengths to tell us about His unconditional love and even given us many illustrations of that love. It seems, no matter what God does or says, there are still those people who think they are beyond the reach of God. We know that nobody is beyond God’s reach. Isaiah said, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear” (Isaiah 59:1). No matter what you have done in your life, you never too far gone that God will abandon you. If you are willing to allow Him, He will rescue you!
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Some of God’s most well-known servants did some terrible things in their lives, yet God still counted them faithful because they repented and turned to God. People will make mistakes because as we stated earlier, we think like humans. Sometimes our thoughts and ideas lead us astray.
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Consider Abraham. As he was traveling after God called him, he went into Egypt because of famine. Here, he told Sarah to say she was his sister so he would not be killed, and Pharoah take her for his own. Well, this lie caused a lot suffering for many innocent people. Pharoah told Abraham to take Sarah and all his possessions and leave Egypt. God blessed Abraham with great wealth as time went on. The God reminded Abraham of His promise of having a child of his own. Sarah thought the process was going too slow, so she suggested that Abraham have a child with her handmaid, Hagar. Sarah became insanely jealous of Hagar and her child, so she ran them off into the desert. Yet another innocent victim of Abraham’s bad decisions. God provided for Hagar and Ishmael. Abraham and Sarah eventually have Isaac and Abraham is counted righteous for his faith in spite of his failures.
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David was considered a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), still he made bad decisions that affected others. He slept with Bathsheba that resulted in her becoming pregnant and David needing to cover it up, so he had her husband Uriah killed. Not only that, but the baby also died. Part of the punishment also included division in his own household to the point where a brother raped his sister, and a brother killed a brother. David’s son Absalom attempted to take over the kingdom after taking his father’s wives. David also took a census of the fighting men in Israel after God told him not to. The resulting plague claimed 70,000 until David asked God to remove the plague and punish him and his family. David offered a sacrifice to the Lord and God forgave him.
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Notice how Paul described himself before he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief (I Timothy 1:13). He also called himself the chief of sinners. Yet, God used Paul to accomplish great things.
You are never too far gone for God to rescue you. All you need to do is call out to Him and be obedient to His word. You still will make some bad decisions; however, you will know that God is right there ready to forgive you and set you back on the right path!
Read I Corinthians 6:9-11