Log in Subscribe

Hope for the Day

Oh No! It’s Ruined!

Diane Houghtaling • Hope Ministries
Posted 5/27/22

If you are a craftsman of any sort, you have undoubtedly experienced a time when you made a slip and cried out, “Oh no! I’ve ruined it!” Whether you were working with pottery or …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Hope for the Day

Oh No! It’s Ruined!

Posted

If you are a craftsman of any sort, you have undoubtedly experienced a time when you made a slip and cried out, “Oh no! I’ve ruined it!” Whether you were working with pottery or glass, wood or metal, cloth or yarn, paint or pastels, scissors or glue gun, there was probably a time when you knew the disappointment of your creation being beyond fixing. 

There may have been times when you could alter your original plan and still salvage what is left of the ruined piece, but then there are also times when a dropped piece of glass or pottery must simply be swept up and thrown out. There is no fixing to be had.

Maybe you’re not a craftsman, but have experienced burning and ruining a meal or a cake right before company is expected. Or perhaps you’ve forgotten to bring a beautiful flowering plant inside, and in the morning, you find it ruined by a frost. Maybe a temperamental computer decided to lose your perfect draft, never to be found again. These can be great disappointments.

There are also times in life when we find ourselves crying out, “Oh no! I’ve ruined my life!” Words that should never have been spoken have slipped out in the heat of drama, and now a life-long relationship is ruined. Or maybe a moment of indiscretion of giving into a fleshly desire has turned your world upside down and you’ve lost all that was precious to you.

Perhaps you gave into peer pressure and said alright to just this one time, and now you are trapped in a prison of nightmares. One poor decision or one wrong choice has sideswiped all the plans you had for your life, and now you are left hopeless with nowhere to turn for help. 

Just as with our ruined handiwork, sometimes we can mange to “fix” our slip ups and ruined lives and relationships. They may look a little different now, and it may take a lot of work to resolve the problems, but reconciliation is possible. As we work through the pain and the issues, we may even find we’ve improved the relationship.

But there may be other times when there is no human help or hope left. Our slip ups have left only destruction on the path ahead, with no way of escape. Yet as hopeless as these times may look, the God of the impossible is watching over our lives. He sees all and knows all, and in spite of that, He loves us anyway.

We can look at any hopeless situation and say, “But God…”. The Father has made provision for us to turn all our mistakes, our bad decisions, and our outright sin around. He sent His only Son, Jesus, to die for us, to give us forgiveness of sin and to bridge the gap between us and God, and between us and others. If we acknowledge our sin and ask forgiveness, He is faithful to forgive us and set us on a right path once again.

We still may have to live with the consequences of our choices, but there is always hope that God will work in our situations to bring about healing and restoration. Isaiah 61:3 tells us that God will give us beauty for the ashes of our lives, joy for mourning, and praise for Him instead of despair.

Hope Ministries is a Christian counseling center, and we are here to help. If you would like to speak confidentially with someone, give us a call at 845-482-5300.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here