thoughtful thursday.

God sees you.

and He knows you.

and just like in poker, 

He wants to "up the ante."

He knows what you've got going on,

and He is going to use it for His glory 

on His timing.

one day you will get to a point where you can stop and look back.

but this time you will be able to look back with a different perspective.

you will be able to see what you've done,

and look at the messes you've made,

and see the pits that you've put yourself in.

then you will realize that even in those pits,

God never left you.

you will realize that He was actually the One that pulled you out of them,

before He set you back on solid ground.

and then you will realize that the messes and the pits 

molded you to who you needed to be for Him.

one day you will realize that 

He actually doesn't care how big of a mess you think you've made.

He's got people who can take your story and raise you one.

one of the things that makes scripture so amazing,

is that God uses regular people to do extraordinary things. 

He uses you to do His work for His glory.

Samson loved the ladies.

he pursued them like crazy.  

he went against what God had said was right.

when one special girl pursued him, he gave in.

he told her his secret & she spilled it to his enemies.

the Philistines cut off his hair, the source of his strength. 

then they gouged his eyes out. 

after imprisoning him and torturing him,

Samson asked God for just one more ounce of strength.

then he pushed the pillars of the temple down,

killing himself along with all the Philistines who captured and persecuted him.

he killed more enemies when he died than while he lived.

and he gave all the glory to God while doing so.

and then there was Rahab. 

she was a prostitute.

God didn't use her after she was a prostitute.

He used her while she was a prostitute.

she trusted God & allowed Him to help her assist the Israelite spies.

she hid the spies that were sent to do God's work.

and when they left her, 

they promised to spare her & her family.

she betrayed her city, and honored God.

and He rescued her from captivity.

so...your story.

your mess.

your disaster.

is His story.

and regardless of your messy, disastrous life,

He still loves you.

and He's making beauty from the ashes.

He writes this story.

He has the pen and paper.

we are the ink that moves it forward.

do you believe that He could use you?

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; 

I have drawn you with loving-kindness." 

- Jeremiah 31:3