The Cross Makes Good of All Our Mess

Dried tears are evidenced on my face as I write this. I feel like a mess.

I couldn’t stop the outpouring of anger that came upon me not thirty minutes ago. Pain and discomfort had re-entered my body this week with a vengeance, after an extended period of feeling well, stable, hopeful.

So I reached my emotional limit and out poured the tears.

Tears of anger, tears of fear, tears of worry. Even tears of thanksgiving for the breaking of my pride, though, I confess, the thankfulness sometimes comes through gritted teeth. The truth is, my body often feels like a mess, and I cannot make sense of much of it.

This is where believing the truth comes into play. This is where I must redirect what I feel to be true of God to rehearsing what I know to be true of him. This is where God’s Word speaks straight to the pain.

What about you? What mess are you in at the present moment?

Are you dealing with a disease, or even a temporarily illness, that seems to be holding you back from activity? Are you in the middle of a nasty family feud? Are you married to someone who does not love the Lord? Are you about to lose your job?

Here’s what is so good: the relevancy of God’s Word stands throughout time and generations. It it for you and for me, right here and right now. Joseph and Jacob, for example, experienced their own slew of messes within their lifetimes, and we have much to learn from their stories.

Let’s remember one particular story from the end of the book of Genesis…

…Jacob is giving his blessing to Joseph’s two sons, which will continue the promise of God to multiply a people for himself from their family line. The scene is reminiscent of a previous one (can you guess it?) where Jacob tricks his father, Isaac, into giving him the birthright that belonged to his brother, Esau.

Deception in Jacob’s boyhood was followed by a series of messy life circumstances: fleeing from Esau and having to settle in a new land; wrestling with an angel of the Lord; raising twelve sons, some of whom were rebellious murderers; and grieving the loss of Joseph, his beloved son, when he is sold into Egyptian slavery by the very same hateful brothers.

It seems that Jacob’s mess could have very little good come from it, right?... READ MORE