I Can Do Anything…Except That!

God’s purpose for us might require us to reveal our failures

As I looked into the faces of the women gathered together around the table, I was amazed when I thought of what brought us together. Each of us had been suffering silently for many years from the shame of a past abortion in our lives and here we sat together, amazed at how God can use even our worst failures to bind us together.

The path that each of us took to get to this table was a long and lonely one, but as we looked back and shared the seemingly random things that happened to each of us along the way, we could see God’s providence in each and every step. Not one of us was sitting at this table by accident. God was working in each of us and was going to use the biggest regret and shame in our lives as a catalyst for things to come.

Ordinarily, when we seek to find our purpose, we want it to be easy. We want God to use the good parts of our past, our strengths, and our natural abilities, not our failures and regrets. We would rather keep those weaknesses hidden underneath the armor of our strengths. Baring the dark truth to others makes us vulnerable and surely God would want us to be strong in pursuing our purpose, right!?

I recall a time in 2018 when I went to a women’s conference and the topic of losing a child to miscarriage or abortion came up. At that conference, I was compelled for the first time to share my abortion story with a friend. Now, here I am two short years later sharing openly that dark secret that I thought would remain hidden in the depths of my soul forever.

What changed in those two short years? The healing power of God’s grace and the revelation that He wanted me to use the hard truth of my past sin to help other women find healing and freedom.

If we choose to let fear hold us back, we risk missing the purpose that God is showing us because we are more worried about maintaining our image than we are about speaking truth into the lives of others who need us to help bear their burdens.

When I finally came out of the dark and revealed my shameful secret, I was fearful of judgment from others. What I have found instead was that God used my truth to open the door to deeper, more authentic conversations with women who felt free to share their stories with someone who understands.

Whatever past pain or regret you may have been holding back as you seek God’s purpose for your life, surrender it to God. He can turn your heartaches into joy and use your weaknesses to make you stronger. He can take even the worst decision that you have ever made and weave it into His beautiful plan.

Reflection

1. Is there some past pain or regret that you are not allowing God to use for His purpose? What steps can you take to surrender it to God?

2. How can you connect with others who are seeking the same healing?

3. What weaknesses do you worry that God can’t use?

Goals

Share 3 steps you can take toward surrendering your failures and weaknesses to God.

This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:15-16 NLT)

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28 NLT)

You may make your plans, but God directs your actions. (Proverbs 16:9 GNB)