After slowly walking into work Monday morning, a coworker and I began to discuss what we did over the weekend. After telling her all about the fun I had at the Dogwood Canyon two-day Trail Runs (at which I ran nearly 42 miles up and down the steep and rocky Ozark mountains), I also told her about the pain in my quads that explained why I was doing the dreaded marathon shuffle.
After we had a good laugh, I said, “I really can't complain too much, though, because I brought this suffering on myself. After all, it's one thing to suffer for something you didn't deserve, but when you bring the suffering on yourself, it's better to just accept it.”
And let me tell you, we had another good laugh about that! She was quick to assure me, though, that this was one type of suffering she would NEVER be bringing upon herself. Is that funny or what?
But you know, spiritually speaking, there's a valuable lesson here for all of us. And the lesson is this…
Sometimes we suffer through no fault of our own, and other times we suffer because of the choices we've made. And while we may never understand why God allows certain trials in our lives, we can trust His promise in Romans 8:28 that He works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
But what about the suffering we bring upon ourselves?
You see, the Bible tells us in Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” In other words, our choices have consequences. And while God promises to forgive us when we genuinely repent and turn from our sins, He doesn't promise to remove all the consequences of those sins.
Consider King David. Although God forgave him for his sins involving Bathsheba and Uriah after he repented, David still suffered painful consequences for his actions (2 Samuel 12). His forgiveness was real, but so were the consequences. And the same is true for us.
Poor decisions can damage relationships, destroy trust, harm our health, and leave us dealing with consequences long after we've asked God for forgiveness. And when that happens, we can't blame God for the suffering we've brought upon ourselves. We must take responsibility, learn from our mistakes, and move forward in obedience.
But here's the beautiful thing about God's mercy. Even when we deserve the consequences of our actions, God doesn't abandon us in our suffering.
Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us that His mercies are new every morning. Think about that! Every single morning we wake up is another opportunity to experience God's compassion, learn from yesterday's mistakes, and make better choices today.
And while God's mercy doesn't always remove the consequences of our actions, it assures us that our failures don't have to define our future.
In fact, Psalm 103:10-12 tells us that God has not dealt with us according to our sins or punished us according to our iniquities. And that as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
What an amazing picture of mercy!
You see, mercy isn't God giving us what we deserve. Mercy is God withholding the punishment we deserve. And nowhere is that mercy more evident than at the cross, where Jesus willingly suffered for sins He never committed so that we could be forgiven of the sins we did commit.
Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Jesus didn't wait for us to get our lives together. He didn't wait for us to become worthy of His love. He suffered and died for us while we were still sinners!
And because of that great mercy, we can face the consequences of our past without being consumed by guilt, shame, or regret. We can repent, accept God's forgiveness, make things right where we can, and trust Him to help us move forward.
Does that mean life will suddenly become easy? Of course not. But it does mean that our suffering is never wasted when we surrender it to God. Whether we're suffering because of circumstances beyond our control or because of choices we wish we could undo, God can use those experiences to humble us, teach us, strengthen our faith, and draw us closer to Him.
And that's something we should be incredibly thankful for.
As for my sore quads? Well, I knew what I was getting into when I signed up to run those beautiful but challenging trails. And while I might be shuffling around for a few more days, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. But the spiritual lesson is one I hope we never forget.
We may not get to choose the consequences of our actions, but we DO get to choose how we respond to them. We can become bitter, blame God, and remain stuck in regret, or we can take responsibility, receive His mercy, and allow Him to use even our mistakes for our good and His glory.
So whatever suffering you might be facing today, remember this my friend: God's mercy is greater than your mistakes, His grace is sufficient for your struggles, and His love is not diminished by your failures.
You can't always undo what you've done, but through Jesus Christ, you can be forgiven, restored, and given a new beginning. And that's a reason to praise Him today and every day.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your mercies that are new every morning. Thank You also for Your grace that provides forgiveness of our sins. Help us to undertand that forgiveness doesn’t always free us from the consequences of our transgressions here on this earth Lord, but does ensure that we will inherit eternal life where all things will be made new. Thank you for that promise. It’s in Your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!
We may not get to choose the consequences of our actions, but we DO get to choose how we respond to them. We can become bitter, blame God, and remain stuck in regret, or we can take responsibility, receive His mercy, and allow Him to use even our mistakes for our good and His glory.
So whatever suffering you might be facing today, remember this my friend: God's mercy is greater than your mistakes, His grace is sufficient for your struggles, and His love is not diminished by your failures.
You can't always undo what you've done, but through Jesus Christ, you can be forgiven, restored, and given a new beginning. And that's a reason to praise Him today and every day.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your mercies that are new every morning. Thank You also for Your grace that provides forgiveness of our sins. Help us to undertand that forgiveness doesn’t always free us from the consequences of our transgressions here on this earth Lord, but does ensure that we will inherit eternal life where all things will be made new. Thank you for that promise. It’s in Your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!
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