So What Now?!?!?!?

Let’s say I have walked the wrong way. I have chosen the wrong friends. I have spoken the wrong words. I have made the wrong decisions and taken the advice that led me down paths that do not honor my God and His sacrifices. What do I do when God is calling me to Himself but I am too ashamed to go, because He knows who and what I really am?

It would make sense to stop and repent. In a real and practical sense, simply make a u-turn and never return to that path again! Doesn’t that sound so easy on paper? To listen to someone tell me that I am going the wrong way certainly makes sense, but to take my daily life and just change overnight feels like an impossible task. Especially when those wrong choices have given me an escape from some of the consequences I fear. I mean, to be honest, as much as I hate the guilt and emptiness that comes with these life style patterns-- facing them seems even scarier. The last thing I want to do is to look into my friends’ eyes and apologize for lying to them, or sit in a counselor’s office and let my wife know what really goes on in my mind, or have an honest moment with my children and show them that their father was mistaken, or sit in a worship service and let my God see the rotten mold that has grown while I thought He wasn’t watching. I am sure that you have your own examples that you could place in this paragraph. No matter what situation you face, it requires the same type of attention--God’s presence and grace, and a whole lot of integrity and honesty.

One of the personal issues that I dealt with as a young man came in the form of deception. I was insecure about who I was and, to be fully honest, I didn’t like who I was. I remember being in church and listening to someone share their wonderful testimony about how they were saved from drugs and alcohol. Everyone cheered for them, and I was jealous! Why couldn’t God save me from drugs and alcohol? Well, without ever touching a drug or becoming an alcoholic, I decided to tell everyone about the drugs and alcohol that were destroying my life, and how God saved me. It was a blatant lie, and one that I am sure everyone saw right through. Yet it began a habit in my life of trying to appear to be something different than I was. The lies grew and grew, and the truth became more and more confusing. Then one day the Lord truly dealt with me and I had to confess my lies to all of the people who were close to me. They must have thought I was crazy. It was a very difficult habit to break, as the lines between truth and lie were so intertwined that I honestly didn’t know one from the other. I remember when I begin dating my wife, I would tell her stories of my past and then have to be honest and confess that I was unsure of whether or not that story actually happened. I am happy to say that the Lord has taken this horrible weakness and has turned it fully around. Most people who know me would probably say, in fact, that I am too honest. So how did this weakness become a strength? What steps did I have to personally go through to allow the Lord to fix this problem that would have led me down dangerous paths?

1. Submit the problem to God
Acts 3:19
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.”

2. Make a personal decision to change
1 Corinthians 15:34
“Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.”

3. Tell someone of your problem
James 5:16
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

4. Ask for forgiveness to those you have wronged
Matthew 5:23
"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

5. When you feel the problem re-growing quickly expose it for others to see
John 3:21
“But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

6. Make it a point to tell others about what God is doing to repair the brokenness
Acts 20:24
“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.”

7. Be available for God to use your weakness as a strength
Hebrews 11: 32
“And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.”

I know that taking these steps may seem more dangerous than the sin that holds you. But I am here to stand in the gap for you. I beg you to not believe that lie. It is only through trusting Jesus and allowing Him to get you on the right path will you find health, wholeness, and maturity. Every other promise that you have heard from this world and the corruption it offers will only lead to destruction and death. The Lord personally gave all that He is to come and give you a chance at life. This life can begin for you today if you are willing to start submitting your daily habits, attitudes, and decisions to Him.