Re-dos are for children’s games.
It’s a learning process, a chance for clarification of the rules.
A re-do also provides an opportunity for renewed self-confidence. We can know success, even if it’s on the second, fifth, or tenth try.
Video game designers have this figured out, and the digital games we play allow us to back up, reset, and replay the most recent flub up we made.
We get a fresh start so we can make greater progress toward success.
God figured this out a long time ago. He could have simply zapped wrongdoers with bolts of lightning, while calling out in peals of thunder, “I told you so.”
God had a better way.
Nehemiah 9:17 introduces us to God’s re-do system of success management.
“They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.”
Here are six things we learn about God in this verse.
First, God is ready to forgive. There’s no lightning hanging over our heads.
Second, God is gracious. He is kind, polite, and courteous in dealing with our human nature.
Third, God is merciful. In other words, he is lenient with our misunderstanding of the rules.
Fourth, God is slow to anger. He prods us gently back onto his perfect path. He champions our success and wants us to succeed.
Fifth, God abounds in steadfast love. Steadfast means unfaltering, persistent, and committed. He’s there for us even when we can’t imagine why.
Sixth, God will not forsake us. Never. No matter how badly we behave, God keeps his hand outstretched, and all we need to do is take it.
Are you having a bad year, perhaps a bad life? It’s time for a re-do. God wants to give you a fresh start. Now is your time.
When you’re ready to reset your life, God’s willing to make it happen.
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