The end of summer came with my dad retiring from head pastor at Venice FM Church. 44 years and 3 months.
I've been studying the life of David through Beth Moore's Breaking Free workbook. What a gift she has been to helping me grow closer to the Lord! One of the many things that she talks about is how flawed David was. He made so many mistakes, HUGE mistakes like killing people he shouldn't have, consorting with the enemy, having more than one wife, etc. That is not the case for other people in the Bible but the reason it was so for David was because He never failed to turned his heart to the Lord. Look at the Psalms. He was constantly praising God in the good and asking God for his protection in the bad. Regardless of circumstance he was humbling himself before God. "While others are prone to wander, David was prone to praise." - BM
How beautiful it is that we can make mistakes and still be clothed in righteousness! Dad made mistakes as head pastor. How could he not? He is human. He is one man. But his ministry lasted the span of his life. God clothed him in righteousness, simply because he kept his eyes, heart, and mind on Jesus. How freeing that we can make a bunch of mistakes but God will still use our lives for His good. Therefore, we are not the sum of our inadequacies and failings. Our identity is not in our mistakes but in the grace of God! Hallelujah!
As a mother to my children, I am not the sum of my failings.
As a worship leader, "success" isn't built on my own gifts.
As a wife, our success is not dependent on how bad I am at it.
God's promises are true. If we keep our eyes on Him, if our lips are always giving Him our heartache or praising Him for His glory, if we are pursuing God, then he will take what sin means for evil and use it for His good.
Your good. My good. His good.
