Are You Okay? - The Crosswalk Devotional - August 18
Are You Okay?
By: Alexis A. Goring
Bible Reading:
“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy.”— Psalm 103:8 NASB
Have you ever needed mercy, grace and compassion after making a mess?
When I worked for Williams-Sonoma—one of my favorite stores that sells kitchenware and home furnishings—I always treaded lightly and carefully around the store displays because most of the products for the kitchen and dining room areas were fragile. I didn’t want to accidentally bump into a display or drop anything while I cleaned it or arranged the products neatly on the shelf. Therefore, every moment on the sales floor was a guarded experience for me.
For the first few months as a sales associate at this store, I didn’t drop anything nor topple over a display of delicate items…until one day. I accidentally bumped into one of the wine glass displays and half of those fragile items crashed down to the floor and shattered into what looked like a million pieces. I was mortified and worried about losing my job. However, one of my colleagues who worked in the stockroom calmed me down when she came alongside me. Instead of being mad at me for making a big mess of expensive items that now had no value because they were permanently broken, she made eye contact with me and with a concerned expression on her face, she asked, “Are you okay?”
In that moment, my mortification turned to relief because I felt like I was given grace despite feeling like a bull in a china shop who caused a catastrophe. Reflecting on that experience years later, I realized my colleague’s compassionate response was similar to the response God has for us when we mess up. He knows we’re going to make mistakes at least once in our lifetime because we’re flawed humans, mere mortals who are sinners by nature and always in need of a savior. And when Jesus Christ who is the Savior we all need, steps into our mess—even if it’s of our own making—He doesn’t immediately scold us, chastise us, blame us, condemn us or shame us. He looks us in the eye and says with a heart full of compassion, “Are you okay?”
What a wonderful God we serve! He is willing to make sure we are okay before He deals with us according to our actions. He is a fair judge (Psalm 7:11) who gives us grace and mercy when needed (Psalm 86:13). Praise the Lord!
This reminds me of the song “Savior to Me” by Kerrie Roberts. The lyrics talk about how God knew everything about our world before He created it. His Presence hovered over the darkness as He spoke light and life into this world. He created mankind with great care all the while knowing that we would hurt His heart when we choose to disobey Him and sin. God also knew that living in a sin-sick world and being affected by the pain of it all would break our hearts. So, He put a plan in place to save our souls. God sent His Son (Jesus Christ) to save our lives (John 3:16-17). Thanks to Him, if we accept His free gift of salvation offered through Christ then have the hope of Heaven after the end of our life on Earth.
I appreciate how Roberts sings about how good God is—He’s not just true but His heart for humankind is filled with a love that endures through the ages. He is powerful yet gentle. He is a Good Father to all of us. Roberts says how we need to realize that we are not the owners of our life, God is, and He paid a price to save us when He let His Son Jesus Christ die and experience separation from God for a few days before He was resurrected. Our Savior is alive and will never die again! We who follow Jesus Christ have this hope of knowing we serve a Risen Savior who understands our pain and empathizes with the plight of humans on this planet.
When we make mistakes and ask Him to forgive us, He covers us with His grace. The Bible says His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Therefore, when we make a mess—and God knows that as humans, we will—we don’t need to panic or be afraid of facing unjust punishment. Instead, we need to turn to our merciful Savior and let Him help us make things right. God loves us with all His Heart. He’ll always check our hearts to see if we are okay before He deals with our mistakes. This is not an excuse to take advantage of His kindness; it is an opportunity to allow God’s love to transform our heart, overflow in our life so that people see Him in us, and to let His grace cover our mistakes.
God can restore anyone and anything if we let Him—including what we thought was permanently broken.
Intersecting Faith and Life:
How does it feel to know that we have access to the Savior of the world who can help us piece our life back together when we make a mess or fall apart? How does it feel to know God’s love for you endures forever?
Further Reading:
Psalm 136
John 14:23
1 Peter 5:10
Romans 15:13
Psalm 103:11-12
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/kitzcorner
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