We're fixing things up a bit at my house. Jerome and I decided our teenage daughter needs the room with two closets, not our son who is at college. While we're in the process of moving them, we figured we may as well add some fresh paint.
I hired a couple of painters, but before they could paint, I had to do the prep work. In one room, I took off the wallpaper border, and in the process of getting the stubborn stuff off the wall, some of the paint came down with it, leaving a nasty, uneven mess. I decided to patch it up myself using spackling paste.
Let me stop here. Have I told you that I'm not very handy? I take a little pride in not requiring my husband to do everything. After all, I can read directions as well as the next person. So I patched. I ran a wet washcloth over my work when I was done and thought that I had made it fairly even.
Not quite. When the paint was dry a few days later, I could still see my—um—handiwork.
This is not my husband's fault. Although I know he is much better at fixing things than I am, I did not ask him for help. This is my fault because I did not recognize that my cover-up would be more obvious than the rough underside that I was trying to hide.
I do this all the time.
When I sin, I rush in to patch things up. Since I am embarrassed at the inconsistencies in my character, I fix what I can and try to move on. Many times, it doesn't turn out any better for me than my patched wall.
I can try to cover my mistakes up, or I can make excuses. Instead, I need to go to the One who died for me, Jesus Christ. The only thing it takes is a little humility: recognizing that I can't get myself out of the mess which I've created.
My favorite Bible verse is Psalms 46:10, which includes the phrase that I often repeat to myself: "Be still and know that I am God." In our stillness, we can hear God's voice and let Him (through the sacrifice of His Son) do the work of not just fixing—but erasing—our mistakes.
If you're like me, you need to quit trying to fix everything on your own and start being more consistent about handing it over. If you haven't ever done that before, will you start today? Jesus has already paid the price. He is just waiting for you to ask.
