Your next steps don’t save you. Baptism doesn’t save you. Whatever next step that you’re called to take, it will lead you to beautiful places but that doesn’t save you. It doesn’t make God love you more and it doesn’t make you a better Christian…it just helps you follow Him on the journey He has laid out for you. What saves you is your faith, and believing that Jesus is who He said he is.
Maybe it’s time to stop letting your story be defined by other things. You’re so much greater than letting your story be defined by your accomplishments. God wants to redefine your past, and your hurts, and your pains. God wants to redefine your story with the greatest story ever. And if you just place your faith in Him and the good work He has done for you, He will redefine your life and give you a new story.
It’s part of the program. It’s part of the plan. It doesn’t look perfect and it doesn’t look great every day, but He’s constantly making the beautiful out of the mess. If you’re following Jesus, the reality of this world doesn’t disappear, but the reality of the next one becomes so beautiful. God wants to make your story beautiful here, but he also wants to make it beautiful for eternity.
We’re so quick to look at the destruction that we cause and blame God. And we miss that every step of the way He offers rescue. Every time. He’s never stopped. He keeps calling for you. And maybe He’s even moving in you right now reminding you that He’s coming to call you to life.
The greatest story is a broken story. We’ve all experienced brokenness in our own story, and we’ve all dealt brokenness because of our own faults and failures. The good news is that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.
Welcome to the greatest story ever! It's a personal story, because Jesus sees you, and He understands you, and He cares about you. He wants to heal your heart. And even if that's messy, even if it gets a little muddy, He will keep coming back for you. Because God is a personal God and He loves you.