When You Mess Up – Do You Run From God or…Run To Him?

Despite God's commands, the children of Israel disobeyed Him. He promised to restore them. When you mes up, do you run from God or run to Him? #Biblestudy #Deuteronomy #WomensBibleStudy #GoodMorningGirls

Not one of us reading this post today, are not in desperate need of forgiveness every.single.day.  We are all sinners in need of a Savior.  Even in the midst of doing good – sin is right there with us.  Perhaps we do a good work – and then take pride in it. Maybe we help an old lady cross the road and then want others to notice.  Other times – we just outright sin through jealousy, losing our temper, gossiping, complaining, worrying, and more. There’s a thousand different ways we could sin everyday, if we don’t walk in the control of the Spirit.

The consequences of sin can be devastating – to the point of eternity in hell – if we do not repent and seek forgiveness from God.

But God.

God in his great love for us, sent his Son Jesus – to die for our sins.

Is there something you have done that you feel God will never forgive you for?

Are you afraid to draw near to God because you feel guilty?

Maybe you already know our God is a forgiving God but you have trouble believing he can forgive you?

Maybe your mistakes feel too big or the mess you have made feels unfixable or perhaps it just feels better to run from God than to run to Him?

Perhaps repentance, which is synonymous with change, seems out of your grasp.  You don’t want to give up your pet sin.

I’m reminded of the story Jesus told, of the prodigal son.  The son ran…but the father waited.

The father waited expectantly because he knew his son.  He knew his son better than his son knew himself and he knew he’d come home…eventually.  And when he came home – the father welcomed him home with open arms…because he was his son.  And no amount of running and wrongs done, could change that.

When you mess up – do your run from God or…run to Him?

You are your Heavenly Father’s daughter – no matter how far you run – you are still His and when you return – He will be faithful to you – even when you have been faithless.  That’s what forgiveness looks like.

That brings us to our passage in Deuteronomy 30.

Israel was a wandering nation.

Israel ran away from God and ran to other gods.  They had rebellious hearts.

But God forgave His chosen people who ran away again and again and again.

Moses tells God’s people in Deuteronomy 30:1-5:

“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers.

Moses tells the people, after they have rebelled and suffered the consequences, they will return to the Lord and he will bless them, have mercy on them and restore them.

Our God is a forgiving God!

He always keeps His promises to His people when they repent.  He gives mercy and blessings!  What a gracious God we have!

Moses reminds them:

14 The word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.

Israel knew God’s voice – they knew God’s Word – it was in in their hearts – all they needed to do was…do it!

15 See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.
16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish.

Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live.
Deuteronomy 30:15-19

Choose life.

We are saved through the blood of Jesus.  This is such a simple truth but do we realize what the word SAVED implies?

Our sin puts us in danger.

Our running puts us in harms way.

We need to be rescued from from our sin.

We need a SAVE-ior.  Jesus is our Savior!

We are never too sinful to be forgiven.  Our Heavenly Father waits with open arms to receive you.

Stop running today.

Pause.

.

.

What sins do you need to repent of in your life?

Don’t run from God – run to Him and repent.   Blessings await you.

Choose life today.

Walk with the King,

Courtney

**Chime In**

Have you ever been on the run from God?   Are you running right now? What pet sin do you need to give up?

 

For Further Reading
The GMG Leadership Team is Blogging Through the Bible Too! Visit their blogs here:
Becoming a Godly Wife – Bridget
Misty Leask – Misty
Rosilind Jukic – Rosilind
Worshipful Living – Mandy

What’s Next After Deuteronomy?

We will begin the Book of Ecclesiastes on June 13th!  This study will be like NONE we have ever done here at Women Living Well. Find all of the details HERE.   Invite your friends and join us!

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16 Comments

  1. This reminds me of the song “When God Ran”. What an awesome reminder that God will always be there for us, no matter what we have done. Thank you, Courtney!

  2. Hi Courtney, will there be a free guide for the Ecclesiastes study like for the others we have done? or is only the journal that is being sold on amazon going to be available.

    thanks

    1. Hi Leona,

      There will be printable SOAK pages available for you but I highly recommend the workbook – it will take you so much deeper.

      The workbook offers a deeper look into each days Bible reading – almost as if I wrote a daily blog post here. It includes more teaching and more verses through out the Bible that bring depth. It includes multiple reflection questions a day to make us slow down and soak it in.

      Hope that helps,
      Courtney 🙂

  3. I one thing I seem to find myself repenting for most often is not spending enough time with Him. I want it to be because I want to, not because I am suppose to. The irony is that the more time I spend with Him, the more time I desire. Yet, when I over schedule myself, it can quickly snowball into less & less time in His presence. No more running! Thanks for another great post!

  4. Thanks for the encouragement today, really needed to hear that God is always there with open arms if we ever fall and need his forgiveness.

  5. Love that phrase “but God” and it means better every time because He is the Alpha and Omega and is in all things,over all things and through all things – thanks

  6. Forgive me if I am wrong, but I thought there was at least one unpardonable sin. I believe it is stated in Mark 3:22-30 and then in Matthew 12:31-32 about blasphemes against the Holy Spirit.

  7. Wow! I literally cried reading this. Although On the surface things seem great my heart sometimes doesn’t feel the same. I’m so grateful to have an immediate forgiving God. I need to stop robbing myself of his precious gifts and trust him.

  8. One of my biggest struggles is ACCEPTING God’s forgiveness. I absolutely know and believe He forgives us when we repent. I even believe that He forgives ME. My struggle comes in ACCEPTING that forgiveness. There have been instances/circumstances/choices in my life that I grew to regret. However, the “deed had been done, and the consequences paid.” While repenting and asking for forgiveness was the right thing to do, nothing about the situation could be changed. In those times, it was very difficult to accept God’s forgiveness. It felt like I was being “let off the hook” when that ain’t the appropriate action. So I live in the regret. It’s a huge struggle for me. I can even picture God trying to hand me a wrapped gift (His forgiveness), and I simply can’t accept it. I know I don’t deserve it. And I sincerely don’t mean that as an “oh, woe is me” statement. I am blessed beyond measure. I’m just talking about a few situations where this is a huge struggle for me.

    1. Hi JuLee,
      I struggle with the same things. I became a Christian when I was 38, went to church, Bible Studies, retreats,etc for 10 years. I learned about the Bible but didn’t understand what it really said.

      Soon sin crept in and it was so much easier to live in the world……

      Two years ago the Holy Spirit convicted me and I understand, love, and follow the Lord Jesus Christ with all my heart now. I have asked for forgiveness and know in my heart that He forgives me, yet I have trouble accepting His forgiveness. I am in counseling now to help sort this out in my carnal mind and to stop living in the past. If anyone has ideas, please reply to this post.

      In these past two years the Lord has blessed me beyond measure and I am so grateful for His protection and love.

      Courtney, thanks for the encouragement!

      Diane Marie

  9. God was restoring me and I was following his instructions and on the last day I got afraid of failing him again if his voice told me what to do again and I did not listen. But I do want to receive the baptism of holy spirit back or holy spirit cuz if not have to run own life and figure out everything on my own and I would rather have him guiding me and speaking to me like before. Marsha

  10. I am concerned that no longer saved and need his voice speaking to me like before feel dead on inside spiritually. After this thing took place. Marsha

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