5 Reasons Your Life is Not a Mess

As a mom, some days feel like a mess: nothing accomplished, plans awry, raging emotions - mess. And as messy days blur into each other, I am tempted to think my life is one big mess.

But a mess of a life is more than a wardrobe overflowing with clothes, or an endless amount of kitchen appliances you just can't part with. It is a mindset with the potential to do more damage than may seem.

Proverbs says, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." So if I think life is a mess, life will be a mess. If I believe life is not a mess, it will be abundant. I want to live an overflowing, glorious life. I cannot afford to believe my life is a mess.

Jesus came to give life in abundance. Yes, life will be busy, that's the way it goes. But it does not have to be a mess. If I want life to change, the first shift is my thinking.

My life is not a mess.

Neither is yours.

Here's why.

1. You Were Created For More

God says, "I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). Mess is not in God's plan, prosperity is. You may be a fragile jar of clay, but the Lord of all creation resides within. You are more than a conqueror. The head and not the tail. Called out of darkness into His glorious light. Created for more than mess.

2. You Were Bought With a Price

Earlier this year my son fractured his elbow. My husband and I spent $3000 fixing it. We did not pay the price for his elbow to remain fractured. We paid the price so it would be healed.

Jesus didn't die for you to stay a broken mess.

For God bought you with a high price. So you must honour God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:20).

God loves you more than you will ever know. You don't deserve mess, so he paid the price at Calvary. Receive his mercy and grace. The more you understand the unconditional love of Father, the less likely you will be to put up with the devil's mess.

3. Your Troubles are Momentary

Jesus said, "Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

Paul was beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, and went without food, sleep, or water, yet he fought the good fight. Job lost his children and wealth, became repulsive to his wife, and was diseased with boils. But he was more blessed at the end of his life than the beginning.

God works things together for good. He is not the author of confusion. Life won't be messy for long. Persevere through the trouble. Don't get caught up in what you can see. Keep living by faith and the mess will change.

4. You Serve a Miracle-Working God

Newton's third law of motion states the world progresses toward mess. For evidence look no further than your kitchen. I know mine does not stay clean for long, and it certainly does not order itself without serious intervention. Mess is a natural part of life.

But since when have believers been limited by natural boundaries? We serve a supernatural God.

God fixes mess. It is not natural. It requires intervention of the supernatural kind. But that is our God. Miracles are his speciality. 

5. You Don't Have to be Perfect

A danger of social media is the illusion of perfection. On Facebook, your girlfriend in California has the perfect life. But no one puts ugly moments in their feed. It is a snippet of high points and not real life. You don't have to compete with it.

Life is not perfect. An imperfect life is not messy, just real. Philippians 3:12-14 gives an important key: forget the past and move forward. Learn to let go and press on. Life won't be perfect, but every day is moving toward Christ's perfection, no matter how small the step may be. It was the one thing Paul did so I'd say it was pretty important.

Jesus paid the price for you and I to live a blessed life. But it's not always sunshine and rainbows. Plans turn to chaos. It happens. Persevere. All things will work together for good. Choose abundance not brokenness. Your life, my life, is not a mess.

I'm Sarah Coleman, an Aussie passionate about Jesus & family. Through blogs and books I minister life and encouragement. Download my FREE eBook, Be Amazing: You Know You Want To. Find more of my thoughts at sarahcoleman.com.au.

Publication date: October 23, 2014