What Do You Do When Mercy, Grace, and Hope are not Enough?

The prodigal child came home.  

You extended mercy in the form of a second (third, fourth, fifth ... .etc chance) without really questioning the why behind the previous choices

You tried to demonstrate grace because you have learned to recognize how much grace God has shown to you. 

You tried to seek out HIS will for your each of next steps

You had hope that this time would be the time that everything would be okay.  

Hoped that the moments of growth and success would be enough to drive perseverance to press on toward the goal. 

And then….. 

Out of nowhere you are sucker punched with deception, confusion, and loss that cannot be explained. 

So, what do you do when you realize that mercy, grace, and hope were not enough?

I wish I could tell you that my faith immediately took control… but I can’t. 

At first there was panic

Then there were no words. 

Followed by some BIG emotions sprinkled with some R rated words to ensure my frustration with the choice was clear. 

There were days when I questioned why my mercy, grace, and hope were not enough. 

Maybe you have been there.  Maybe this is where you are now.

If so, let me try to save you a step or two in the process of moving forward

This isn’t about you. 

And the best way to fight is to let your faith take the lead. 

In January, I started trying to dig deeper into scripture. 

Looking back, God was already preparing me for what he knew was coming around the corner.  The first verse he brought to my focus was 

Trust God

From the bottom of your heart

Don’t try to figure out everything on your own
Listen for God’s voice

In everything you do.  Everywhere you go. 

He’s the one who keep you on track. 

Don’t assume that you know it all

Run to God

Proverbs 3:5-12

Some key points:

Trust… God

Don’t try to figure out everything on your own

Listen…. God’s voice

Don’t assume

Run to God

So when grace, mercy, and hope don’t seem (notice I said seem) to be enough… Trust God

If and when you are sucker punched again… don’t try to figure out everything on your own…Trust God

And when there are no words and confusion seems overwhelming… redirect that focus to worship and Trust God

Run to God

For me, that is blaring praise music… and listening for him to speak through reminders of his promises and faithfulness.

So when grace, mercy, and hope don’t seem to be enough

Don’t assume you know it all…. Because only God knows how this story really ends. 

But faith doesn’t always take you out of the problem.

Faith often takes you through the problem

Faith doesn’t alway take away the pain

Faith gives you the ability to handle the pain.

Faith doesn’t take you out of the storm. 

Faith calms you in the midst of the storm

-Rick Warren

Dedicated to Hope