MAKING A MESSAGE OUT OF A MESSED UP LIFE WRITTEN BY IFEOLUWA AKINBO

MAKING A MESSAGE OUT OF A MESSED UP LIFE

WRITTEN BY IFEOLUWA AKINBO

Have you heard of the man who persecuted the church so much during his youthful days? Oh, if there was a word after persecution, we will just attribute it to what he did. 

He killed and destroyed the people and things of God at will and no one dared question or fight him. He even had followers. He was feared home and abroad. What a trouble he must have been. 

But guess what?

This guy became a preacher just over night! If he was just a preacher, maybe we wouldn't have made so much noise about it. But this man in question  wrote about 13 books of the New Testament we all read today. 

He is the popular APOSTLE PAUL. Can we talk about Christianity and not mention his name? No way! 

Apostle Paul whose name used to be Saul became the instrument in the hand of God to take the gospel to the gentiles and set some foundational principles for Christianity.

Who says you have to forever dwell in your mess? Who is deceiving you that your present state of disgrace is the end? It can never be because the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ has overshadowed every disgrace.

Jesus speaking in John 10:10 says,  "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

To have life to the full is to fulfil the purpose of God for your life and die empty. You can not achieve this if you continually stay at the place where you fell. The Bible says in Proverbs 24:16a "A righteous person may fall seven times, but he gets up again."

The areas of your life you are not proud of right now should never determine your future. They are part of the building stones the Lord is using to make your beautiful future. God does not condemn you. He loves you even when you think you have messed up and He is happily waiting for you to understand that your mess is a message to the world. The Bible says in Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” 

A popular female preacher in Nigeria often says, "God does not consult your past to determine your future." And "your background does not mean your back should forever be on the ground."

Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?” (Lamentations 3:37)

God has the final say over your life not your circumstances. He says in His Word,  "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)

No matter the number of times you have fallen, it's time to jump back on your feet. You are a child of a King and does not deserve to live in a mess but in a palace. 

Your voice should never be silenced by that situation.

The devil should never rejoice over you but be put to shame by you.

You should tell the devil today that he thought he got you but he just missed the target.

You are coming out better and stronger.

You should not just come out of that mess but bring every other person in that mess out too.

No matter how dark that part you trailed has been, Jesus is the Light and He will  make your path bright again.

If Paul the Apostle was not there before, maybe he wouldn't have been able to deliver as many as he did. But he knew what it meant to live without the knowledge and acceptance of Jesus. So, that was a drive for him to keep proclaiming the gospel to the gentiles.

Sometimes, your place of pain is your place of gain. That area where you think you have messed up is the message God is giving you to the world. Now that you know how you fell into that mess, will you just sit down and do nothing or get it to ensure others do not fall too? WAKE UP! GET UP! AND STAY UP!

Finally, you have to understand that GOD MADE YOU AND DID NOT MAKE A MESS. He says “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)

The pain has kept you down for too long and God is calling you now to get up. He is opening His arms of love to you now. He is saying, just come and open up your wound to me and I will heal you. Jesus wants you to remember that He died on the cross just so that you will not live in that mess anymore. Pour out your pain to Him and He will wipe your tears. 

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

Shalom!