Have You Disqualified Yourself?

“I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love.” Romans 8:38 NLT

Have you resigned yourself to a dark, never-ending valley? A valley can be many things, but perhaps for you, it’s a prison you have willingly entered. You’ve pronounced judgment on your sins, pulled the bars closed on your life, and tossed the key.

What have you done? What evil deed resigned you to this fate? What do you feel has disqualified you so entirely that you have entered this state of suspension—suspending life, suspending love?

There is nothing that can separate you from the love of God. There is no sin so dark that the blood of Jesus cannot cover.

Consider Paul. As a young man, he watched over the clothes of Stephen’s accusers as they stoned him to death. He then became a deadly persecutor of the early church (Acts 7:58). It mirrored the horrific tales you hear in today’s news when a church is attacked, its pastor and members beaten or killed or imprisoned.

Or consider Peter, an apostle, one of the 12 who was side by side with Jesus for three and a half years. Yet when Peter was confronted concerning his alliance with the Lord, he denied it. With Jesus but a few yards away and Peter in his line of sight, three times Peter denied even knowing the man (Luke 23:60–62).

Both of these men could easily be disqualified. Sinners beyond saving. And yet...

God apprehended Paul and gave him a mission to preach salvation to the Gentiles. And Peter quickly found his way to repentance and forgiveness, becoming a bold leader of the early church. He was eventually martyred for his faith.

There is no sin that Jesus’ blood cannot cover. A call and a purpose is waiting out there for you, beyond the walls of your self-constructed prison. Receive your forgiveness and pick up the mantle of God’s plan for your life. Walk out of your valley and live.

Pray:“God, I confess my sin and I seek your forgiveness. I believe you have a plan for my life and I embrace it now, through the blood and the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

Seek: Are you prolonging your valley? What do you feel has disqualified you from serving the Lord? Today, seek God’s forgiveness and mercy. Walk in the plan he has for your life.

Speak: The blood of Jesus covers my sin. Nothing can separate me from God’s love.