Do you ever feel like some aspects of your life (work, home-life, emotions, etc.) are in chaos? Maybe you start dropping the ball here and there, forgetting things, saying or doing things you regret.
I have had moments like that. For example, there are times when both my kids are melting down simultaneously (with no end in sight), the phone rings, and I’m trying to get a meal on the table. It’s as if my brain is stretched in four different directions and I have absolutely no idea which issue I should address first.
The combination of chaos and cluelessness make me want to cry but I try to muster up enough strength to handle the situation by saying to myself, “get it together, Suzie!”
However, what I need in that moment isn’t more of me, it’s more of Jesus.
Oh how humbling are those moments.
Maybe for you it isn’t so much the chaos of children at home, maybe it’s making a mistake at work or messing things up in a relationship. Maybe you said something you wish you hadn’t and you think to yourself, “get it together!”
I wondered if perhaps there were any people in the Bible who might have said something similar to themselves. An idea came to mind as my husband and I were talking about the topic of love, specifically as it pertains to the passage in John 21, where Jesus reinstates Peter.
In this passage, Jesus asks three times if Peter loves him. The first two times, Jesus uses the “agape” word for love, which is more like the unconditional kind of love. Though Peter replies that yes, he does love Jesus, he uses a different term (phileo). That kind of love is more along the lines of brotherly love or feeling affection toward someone.
My husband and I wondered why Peter didn’t respond with the “agape” word for love. I have a hunch. I’m going to take a little liberty here because it’s not specifically in the text.
My hunch is that Peter wanted to “agape” Jesus but that he was ashamed for having denied Jesus three times prior to His death. Maybe Peter didn’t feel like he exemplified “agape” love and therefore couldn’t bring himself to declare that kind of love for Jesus.
Can you imagine what kind of shame and regret you would feel if you had done something like what Peter did in denying his association with Jesus? Scripture tells us that Peter “wept bitterly” when he realized what he had done and that Jesus’ prediction about his denial had come true.
He regretted it immediately and tremendously. I wonder if he thought to himself, “Peter! How could you do this? Come on man, get it together!” After messing things up so badly with Jesus, how could Peter then tell Him that he “agape” loved him?
And yet, each time Jesus asked Peter if he loved him and Peter responded, Jesus had a job for Peter. “Feed my lambs, take care of my sheep, feed my sheep.”
It was almost as if Jesus was saying to Peter, “don’t let your feelings of shame (the deeds that led to which, I have forgiven), keep you from doing the work I have for you.”
Is that something you, or someone you know, needs to hear today? Are you letting your feelings of regret, guilt or shame keep you from joyfully doing the work God has prepared in advance for you to do?
When we mess up, when we make mistakes, when we melt down, it’s easy to want to just try to well it up within ourselves to “get it together.” But friends, that’s not the answer.
It’s not about getting it together, it’s about doing it together with Jesus.
When we tell ourselves to “get it together,” we become the focus. We look to ourselves for strength. Instead, Jesus should be our focus and He should be our strength.
It is only with Jesus that we can do anything. Apart from God we can do nothing. We are to abide in him (John 15:5). That’s what produces fruit. That’s what gives us the strength to handle the sometimes chaotic circumstances around us.
Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice, His death and resurrection are what allow us to let go of the shame and the guilt. We are forgiven and set free and the one who did that for us wants to be in relationship with us. So we do this life together with Him.
As we seek to go be radiant, one of the best ways we can do that is by abiding in God. That’s how we will reflect His glory, even amidst the chaos, the mess ups, and the mistakes.
Go Be Radiant 