Even when you realize you need to change ...

Do you remember when you realized God was holy and that you were ... not?

I do.  I was 14 and had had a "near death" experience with carbon monoxide poisoning.  I had thought I wanted to wait until later to give my life to God because I had "things" I wanted to do first. After coming so close to being in eternity, I realized my wanting to wait was nothing more than sinful desires to do things that were less than God's best for me. I knew God was real and I realized how selfish I was.

Isaiah had such an experience.  He had a vision of God and he exclaimed: “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”  (Isaiah 6:5 NLT)

He realized how holy God is and how unholy he was. The problem was taken care of when an angel brought a coal from the Holy Altar and used it to purify Isaiah's lips.

Then, there was a man named Peter.

It dawned on Peter that Jesus was God after a miraculous catch of fish and his first reaction was the realization of his own sinfulness.

Modern Day Fisherman

So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.Luke 5:1-11 New King James Version (NKJV)

Once Peter realized his sinfulness, Jesus could begin the work of transforming Peter into the calling He had for him.  Jesus said, "Don't be afraid, from now on, you will catch men.

The bad news is, there will be many times we come into God's presence and realize all over again how impure and unholy we are.  It will ever be so this side of heaven. We can become paralyzed with fear when we truly realize what we are ...

The great fantastic news is, Jesus didn't condemn Peter. Instead, He showed Peter his future!

He is ever faithful and just to forgive us when we confess our sins.  

The work of transforming us to be more like Him is an ongoing process. Don't wait to get started!

In this age of pandemic fears, stock piling and shortages, I've resurrected some of my earlier posts about the fears we all experience. I'm calling it F.E.A.R. - False Evidence Appearing Real because most of what we are afraid of is in our minds. 

I'm including this post in the series, even though our fear when we realize our sinfulness is very real; if we repent, we can still enjoy a rich relationship with our Savior and He will have a job for each to do. Satan always tries his best to remind us of our past failings hoping to derail us. Don't listen to him!

You can also look at my last post, "Even when desperate," which focuses on the fear you may feel when you think you're out of options.

I'm linking this post with the communities at Recharge Wednesday and InstaEncouragements Link-Up
#TuneInThursday
Grace&Truth