One of my favorite scriptures is Genesis 50:20 , “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” That has always brought me tremendous comfort when life goes sideways and things don’t go as I had planned. I see how the enemy came in with his intentions of harm, and that harm touches me for a moment, but then God comes in and turns that harm into something good. Then, in the end, things are better because of it. More good came out of it because God was involved.

But, have you ever thought of that scripture in relation to our mistakes and failures?

You know, the devil loves it when you screw up. He dangles temptations and frustrations in an attempt to get you to take the bait and sin. He knows that sin separates you from God. Satan knows precisely what causes you to shrink back and withdraw. And if he can get you to withdraw from God in your guilt, shame, pain and regret, then he can whisper his lies in your ear that much louder.

Yes, the devil intends to harm you with those frustrations and temptations. But God takes the enemy’s intended harm, and he turns it around for good. God takes your failures and he uses them as opportunities to show you his grace. He takes your mistakes and he uses them as opportunities to redirect you to his better plan. He takes your sin, forgives it, shows you immeasurable mercy, lavishes you with his love, and saves you again and again.

The enemy intended to harm you with that last screw up of yours. Oh he wanted to absolutely crush your confidence. He wanted to convince you that you will never be good enough. He wanted to make you believe you can’t move past this one. Wow, he was discouraging you. Gosh, he was depressing you. Look at the anxiety he stirred up. The darkness he surrounded you in.

BUT GOD.

But God took your mistakes and your regrets and he pulled you in close so he could fix this. He reworked that harm and used it to help you grow. Now, you see His light. You know his love. You walk in his grace. You were saved.

Satan wants you to run and hide so he can destroy you in your guilt. God wants you to run to him so he can save you in your guilt. Satan wants to remind you of how wrong you are in every way. God wants you to know he will make you right with Him and count you as righteous.

Yesterday, we learned that being counted as righteous is to receive a credit that outweighs every debit in our account. Sin debits and takes away. Sin will leave you empty and bankrupt. But God deposits everything you will ever need. Forgiveness, redemption, healing, redirection, better plans and purpose. He overflows your account with these deposits.

To be counted as righteous is to be made right with God. We’re wrong, but he makes us right. He works within us to bring change.

Now, Paul is writing this letter to the Church in Rome and he is giving examples of those who have been wrong, but were made right with God. Those who had failed, BUT GOD had turned their failure into growth and a closer relationship with Him.

Romans 4: 6-8, “David spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it.” (Now he quotes David’s writings from Psalm 32, “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt.”

This is the example of King David. Remember, he was once the little shepherd boy out in the field with his father’s sheep, and he was chosen by God to be the next King of Israel. Little David courageously faced the enemy’s giant, Goliath, and defeated him with his slingshot and a rock. David became mighty and powerful. God was pleased with David because David continually sought him and obeyed him with courageous faith.

But then, David screwed up. Like BIG TIME screwed up. King David saw a beautiful woman taking a bath one day as he stood on his rooftop. He knew she was married, but he used his power to have her brought to him so he could sleep with her. This beautiful woman’s name was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. Bathsheba became pregnant by David.

David’s sin had created a mess. The devil loves messes. He loves family chaos. He loves tangled webs, lies, deceit and guilt. It is his intended harm to God’s children. Satan knows sin hurts us and separates us from God. David’s sin was now on display with a pregnant, married woman.

So David doubles down on his sin, intentionally sends her husband, Uriah, to the front lines of the battle, pulls back his troops and has him killed. Now Bathsheba can be his wife. David was happy because he was getting what he wanted.

But 2 Samuel 12:27 , “But the Lord was displeased with what David had done.”

Then, David and Bathsheba’s baby died. And let me tell you, the devil thought he had won. He thought the guilt and the grief David felt would surely ruin his life and cause him to hide from God.

BUT GOD! But God restored David, strengthened him, forgave him and blessed him. The total OPPOSITE of what the enemy wanted. But that’s what God does. God takes the enemy’s intended harm, and he uses it for good.

David sought the Lord in his guilt, in his shame, in his regret, and in his grief. The Lord then gave David and Bathsheba another baby boy named Solomon. Solomon became a powerful man of God, the next generation in the lineage of Jesus!

So, David knew failure. David knew mistakes. David knew shame. David knew grief. He knew works that fell short and the gift of God’s undeserved righteousness. That’s why Paul is quoting David in his letter to the Romans. David is the perfect example of God taking someone who was wrong and making them right. He’s the perfect example of using sin to bring him in closer instead of drive him away further.

The devil always wants to pull you away from God. He wants you to hide. He wants there to be distance. He wants you to stay stuck in the darkness of that pain where he can whisper his lies so loudly that you can’t hear anything else. You know, those lies that tell you you aren’t good enough. Those lies that tell you you will never recover from this. Those lies that tell you your life isn’t worth anything, this will never get better, and everyone is just better off without you. Yes, those lies.

But God wants to use all of this to pull you in close with his grace and mercy. He wants to heal you and restore you. He wants to strengthen you and redirect you to his good plans that still stand for your life. God wants to use this intended harm for good now and save you!

Paul quotes David as someone who understood the need for God to make him right because his own works fell so miserably short. Now, let’s read the rest of what David has to say. There’s more.

David says in Psalm 32, “Oh what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt …” Then here’s the rest: “Whose lives are lived in complete honesty!”

David had lived a lie. He had sinned with Bathsheba, then he had doubled down on his sin and had her husband killed. We’re talking some BAD stuff here. But David knows the complete relief of living in honesty with God instead of hiding.

Verse 3-4, “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.”

Verse 5, “Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.”

God used David’s sin to bring him back in, strengthen him and redirect him. That’s what God does in response to sin. He doesn’t want this divide – that divide is from the devil.

David writes from personal experience knowing how God forgave him, restored him, and used all of this intended harm for good. Now verse 8, “The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.'”

That’s what you need to know is waiting on the other side of your greatest failures and mistakes. A God who promises to guide you to his best path for your life. A God who will stay close and watch over you. A God who will use it all for good.

God, I want to live in complete honesty with you. I don’t want to hide. I don’t want this distance. And now I know you don’t either. You’re calling me back to you so you can use this for good now. I’m coming back. I want your best path for my life still.

If you’ve been away from God, it’s time to just come back now. He wants you back. He wants to use this for good and make you right with him.

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela

Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim

Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com