MAKING SOMETHING OF MY MESS
Psalms 40:11-17, MSG
11 Now God, don’t hold out on me, don’t hold back your passion. Your love and truth are all that keeps me together. 12 When troubles ganged up on me, a mob of sins past counting, I was so swamped by guilt I couldn’t see my way clear. More guilt in my heart than hair on my head, so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out. 13 Soften up, God, and intervene; hurry and get me some help, 14 So those who are trying to kidnap my soul will be embarrassed and lose face, So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable will be heckled and disgraced, 15 So those who pray for my ruin will be booed and jeered without mercy. 16 But all who are hunting for you — oh, let them sing and be happy. Let those who know what you’re all about tell the world you’re great and not quitting. 17 And me? I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing: make something of me. You can do it; you’ve got what it takes — but God, don’t put it off. — Psalms 40:11:-17, MSG
At this point in Psalms 40, David admits what others may or may not know about him. David does not say that he has been a mess. He says, “I am a mess.” He is stuck in a season of mess and misery. The fault lies not only with others who pursue and pressure him, but also with him. He is not innocent. He had a hand in the events which have resulted in his current reality. He made decisions that pushed him into a state of disorder, chaos, and mess. He remains a mess because he had refused, up until now, to acknowledge his iniquity, insolence, and impotence.
However, he has only one ace in the hole and one last card to play. He looks to his maker to make something out of the mess that he has been and is. Equally important, he knows he will be a mess in the future without turning to and trusting God. He begs God to hear and help. He pleads for God to step in, take hold of him, and reshape him. What’s instructive and illustrative is that David believes the One who made him can take his mess and make something useful — dare say, even masterful and remarkable out of it. The question is: How (or why)?
The Lord does not give us a peek into his proverbial bag of tricks. We don’t know his secrets because a miracle worker never exposes his secrets. Ours is not to know how, but ours is to know that God will hear and help us. The wonder of it all is that we don’t have to be perfect nor pretend to be super pious or moral. The Lord does all of his work through flawed, broken, and disobedient people. What’s more, God uses messed up people who have returned to him as an Exhibit A of what he can and will do to anyone who looks to and leans upon him.
In short, trust the Lord to use your mess to spark your growth and add to your ministerial toolbox. Give the Lord your mess and watch him work it into something helpful, meaningful, and glorifying.
