Setback

Life was great. My relationship with the Lord was alive and growing. My relationship with my husband was full of love. I was thankful for the family and friendships God had provided me. My husband and I even said one night, “Man, we are so blessed. Life feels too good!”

Our famous last words… well, maybe that’s dramatic.

But within a matter of weeks, my life felt like it had completely turned upside down. Those relationships were tested and some even shattered.

I felt like I was under attack from the enemy. I fell into traps I should have avoided, and I gave in to my sinful nature. I truly felt lost.

No way out. No way forward.

I’m ashamed.

How do I return to Him now? How do I face my Father again after all of this?

And maybe the harder question is, “How do I ask Him to help me out after I turned my back on Him when I needed Him most?”

“Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.” Micah 7:8 NLT

REDEMPTION.

According to Google, redemption means to “buy back, save, or clear a debt.” It comes from a Latin term meaning “to buy back or ransom.” It describes being saved from wrong, paying off what is owed, or getting back something you lost.

Lost.

Man, I feel like I lost so much in my life before following Jesus. And sometimes that loss still weighs on me. It still dictates what I say and do. It still affects the way I respond when things get hard.

But a friend reminded me this week that God is a Redeemer.

He can redeem me.

He can redeem this situation.

He can redeem the things I thought were too broken to fix.

No matter how big the problem feels. No matter how impossible it seems. No matter how far I think I’ve wandered.

He can save me. 

He can ransom me. 

He can restore what was lost.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 NLT

I sit here writing this still not knowing exactly how I’m going to make it through my situation. I don’t know how these trials will unfold or how I’ll break the cycles of my past.

But for the first time in weeks, I have a little bit of hope.

Not because I suddenly have all the answers.

But because my God is greater.

Greater than my mistakes.

Greater than my brokenness.

Greater than my past.

Greater than the things I’ve done and the things that have been done to me.

And that’s redemption.

Not pretending I’m not broken.

Not pretending I didn’t mess up.

But allowing God into the broken places and trusting Him to do what only He can do.

If you’re sitting in a setback right now like I am, wondering how you’re ever going to find your way back, let me remind you of something I’m having to remind myself of too:

You are not too far gone.

You haven’t lost your way so badly that God can’t find you.

You haven’t messed up so badly that He can’t redeem you.

Come back.

Let Him meet you in the mess.

Let Him rebuild what’s been broken.

Let Him renew what has grown tired.

And trust that what feels like the end of your story might just be the place where God begins to redeem it.

You’ll get it back, my friend. Everything you’ve lost and more.