Have you ever felt like you are too far gone?                  

Do you feel this way today?                   

You want to know Jesus more…           

but after all that you’ve done wrong, you don’t believe that you could do much good anymore.                   

That no matter how hard you try and turn to God, your past constantly reminds you that you are just not ‘Christian material.’                   

Too dirty to be taken seriously as a Christian.           

You’re edges are so rough that you fear doing more harm than good, to those you may get close to.             

You hear in your mind…                    

“How could I lead people to walk in the right way, when I have only walked in the wrong way?”                      

“There isn’t anything special about me… nothing that God could use for good.”                      

 

 

“God wouldn’t want to be near someone as filthy, rebellious and selfish as me.”                    

Maybe you knew the right thing to do, yet you chose to do the wrong thing when the pressure set in.                   

Perhaps you weren’t quite sure of what the right thing to do was, so you decided to do what made sense to you; only to learn later on, that you made the wrong decision.                 

No matter what you’ve done or how aware you were when you did it,

the devil will hold it over you for as long as he can.                    

I know this because I allowed him to use my past as a weapon against me for a long time.                   

Everyday, as I tried to move closer to the Lord, the enemy reminded me of how wicked my heart was while he recounted the moments in my past that I allowed myself to do the wrong thing.                

On the outside, I seemed like a happy Christian… while on the inside, I was constantly tortured by constant playback reels of all of my past mistakes.                

It got so bad that eventually, when I relived a painful mistake from my past, my body would suddenly shudder.                    

That quick physical shock is also what triggered me to stop thinking about what was torturing me and it helped me snap back into the present moment.                      

Shame and regret were painful instruments that the devil used to keep me from walking according to God’s purpose for me.                   

After a whole day of focusing on my failures, I was too exhausted to even dare fight back.                       

This went on for years…                      

It was all I could do to just read God’s word and try to apply it.                    

The enemy would regularly fill my head with discouragement; telling me that no matter how hard I try and turn away from my past and make mindful decisions towards God,

I will NEVER truly be different.             

I will always be the girl who did that mistake.                     

I shouldn’t even trust my decisions because I was too broken to ever see things clearly.                   

My good could never blot out all of the destruction that I’ve caused.                   

No matter how good my intentions may be, the result will always be bad.                    

Even though I truly don’t want to hurt God or anyone, I’m always going to cause problems.                       

The guilt ate at me every single day and   

there was a time in my life when I believed that I was too far gone.                

Do you know what this feels like?                      

Is this a part of your story too?                   

This doesn’t have to be how your story ends.                   

I’m living proof that you don’t have to stay in this mental prison.                      

This blog is evidence that God saved me from that pit.                       

Now, It’s your turn to be free!                      

First, I want you to see something that helped me.                

I want you to understand that…              

Your brokenness doesn’t disqualify you from walking with Jesus,            

It qualifies you for His grace!                  

The same thing that the enemy uses against you, is exactly what gives you power!                       

 “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”              

‭‭II Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.                

The devil doesn’t want us to embrace our failures, he wants us to feel like we are too damaged to do anything good.          

If we actually acknowledge that failures prove that we need God, we won’t feel guilt and shame when we recall them.                 

The enemy wants us to believe that once we failed, we are damaged and no longer able to fit in God’s purpose.                

This rejection oftentimes causes people to be angry with God and in their desperation to be accepted and loved, they typically rebel against God in anyway they can; in order to prove that they don’t need God’s approval.                     

All of this because we listen to the lies of an enemy who pretends to be on our side, only to keep us from the One who died to approve of us.                  

Before we move forward, we need to realize that our mistakes, failures, bad decisions, careless behaviors and sin CANNOT keep us from God.                   

Nothing can separate us from God!                 

How do I know this?               

See Romans 8:37-39,          

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”         

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭37‬-‭39‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.              

No matter what the enemy says to you…        

God has not left you.                    

Because of the love of God shown through Jesus, our sin is unable to disqualify us from the purpose that He created us for!                      

Our need for His grace is the very thing that qualifies us for our calling!                   

It’s not that God can still use you for His purpose, even after you have messed up; 

Rather, God doesn’t allow His purpose for His creation to fail.                  

“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”             

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55‬:‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.                   

So, if God spoke you into existence, you won’t return to Him without first accomplishing what He created you for…               

Whatever that may be!                    

So, you cannot fail so much that God would cancel your purpose.                   

You are unable to be “too far gone!”                    

If knowing this doesn’t relieve the pressure or remove the fear of failure, maybe you need to see in God’s word, someone who could’ve felt that he was too far gone to walk in his purpose.                      

Let’s look at Jesus’ right hand man, Peter!                   

Peter had a great purpose for his life!                  

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.””              

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.             

Simon was his original name, but the name God gave him was Peter, which meant “rock.”                 

Jesus told Peter that the church will be built on him!                  

He was given authority and responsibility from Jesus Himself.                      

Peter was a sinful man who decided to change his focus and follow Jesus.                      

His past didn’t disqualify him.                    

Jesus chose him, knowing every sinful thing in his past…                

and every sinful thing that he would do after he decided to follow Jesus.                         

Peter didn’t just have bad decisions in his pre-Jesus life.                         

He made some big mistakes during his walk with Jesus too.                   

We read in ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭33‬-‭35‬ ‭NKJV‬‬…                               

He boldly claimed that he would be Jesus’ ride or die…             

Jesus knew that Peter would fail at living what he claimed, yet Jesus didn’t revoke the calling that was on Peter’s life!                  

In Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭69‬-‭75‬, Peter made this monumental mistake‬‬,                     

“Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.” And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!” And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.”               

Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭69‬-‭75‬ ‭NKJV.                       

 

Peter did exactly what he never thought he would do.              

Jesus told him that he would fail, but he didn’t believe it.                 

I love that Jesus let Peter know that before he could even imagined making such a big mistake, Jesus was already aware of the mistake and Jesus still accepted him.                      

If I was Peter, I would believe that my purpose was over!                      

He just denied Jesus!             

Now Jesus can rightly deny him before God.                 

How could God and why would God still have a beautiful purpose for a man like Peter?                

He really did it this time!                  

If anyone got TOO FAR…            

It was Peter.                  

He knew of his calling and his responsibility and he still turned his back on Jesus… who was literally on his way to die for him!                       

Guilt had to have been devouring Peter at this point…    

That’s why he wept immediately after realizing that he had made the worst mistake of his entire life!                       

How could God have a great purpose for someone like Peter?                         

Well, let’s look at Peter’s life, after he had gone farther than he ever feared that he would go.                   

Let’s see exactly what God did with his life after he made this mistake.                 

Here are some highlights of Peter’s ministry.                  

‭‭In the name of Jesus, Peter performs a miracle in Acts‬ ‭3‬:‭2‬-‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.                      

In ‭‭Acts‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬-‭26‬ ‭NKJV‬‬, Peter boldly preaches about Jesus to the people and gave God the glory for the miracle!                    

Gone are the days of Peter hiding his connection to Jesus!               

Peter never again denied Jesus!                 

Now, he boldly proclaimed the name of Jesus!                

We see this in ‭‭Acts‬ ‭4‬:‭5‬-‭12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬;                 

When Peter faces the religious rulers and, being filled with the Holy Spirit, boldly stands up for Jesus.                    

Peter’s past mistakes did not damage him beyond the point of proper function.                   

His monumental failure did not disqualify him.                   

Though he messed up, it never made God change His mind about him.               

God knew everything about Peter, before Peter ever existed; and still chose him to be the rock of the church.                   

Peter was unable to be “too far gone” 

because God’s purpose for Peter would be accomplished, regardless of Peter’s failures!                  

I say this a lot, but only because it’s true!             

God is God!               

We are just not powerful enough to throw His plans or purpose off track!                 

What God purposed, we are not powerful enough to destroy.                 

What God plans comes to pass, because He is God and we are not even close.                    

“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”               

‭‭Romans‬ ‭11‬:‭29‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.                

Remember this…               

What God has called, 

we cannot cancel.              

Nothing could cancel Peter, because God called him.             

Remember how Jesus said that all believers would do even greater works than even He did while on earth?…                            

 

““Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”           

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.                 

Also recount that in Mark 6:56, people were made well if they simply touched the hem of His garment.        

“Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well.”             

‭‭Mark‬ ‭6‬:‭56‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.                  

Miracles happened by just one touch of Jesus.                

Jesus says that believers would do even greater than that!                     

Even believers like Peter…               

Believers who doubted and denied Him in the past.            

Those who believed but also have failed to believe in the past.               

Believers who made too many mistakes to count.           

People who feel like they are too far gone; too broken and damaged to be of service in God’s kingdom.                

People just like Peter.              

 

 

“And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.”                      

‭‭Acts‬ ‭5‬:‭12‬-‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.                  

Just Peter’s shadow passing by, would heal those who had the faith to believe.                 

Peter did greater works during his ministry for Jesus Christ, than even Jesus Christ himself.               

God used Peter greatly and he certainly was the rock of the church.                 

Everything that God purposed him for, was accomplished!                  

Though, Peter made so many mistakes, it never surprised God at all.                   

Peter’s failures could not ruin God’s plan…                              

Nor, can your failures ruin God’s purpose for your life!              

What God created in you, will come to pass.              

Your past has not disqualified you…              

It actually qualifies you to receive His mercy.                    

Your calling cannot be canceled, no matter what you have done!                      

I know you feel like you are too far gone,    

but your past will never be able to separate you from the purpose and the love of God!