“God is not stopped because He’s grieved” (Tom Wenger)
When I heard that in a sermon, it hit me like a lightning bolt. I wrote it down and I keep it where I can see it. It’s been a source of encouragement for a lot of years now.
I do things that, I know, aren’t what He wants of me. I don’t represent Him the way I should. I do or say things that hurt others. But God is not stopped because He’s grieved.
I make bad decisions that, like Pilgrim in Pilgrim’s Progress, take me off the path and into danger. Or I decide to go another way that looks like a short-cut or more fun, only to find myself in a dark ravine calling for my Shepherd to find me. But God is not stopped because He’s grieved.
God has a path for our adult children to walk and it won’t look like ours. They make decisions that we know will hurt them, but they are their decisions to make. It’s hard to watch—and hard not to panic. But God is not stopped because He’s grieved.
See what I mean? God has a plan for each of His children—a path for us to walk—and a place with Him when the journey ends. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is going to stop Him.
When we are less than a shining example of a Christian—when we hurt others or shut them out—He is not stopped because He’s grieved. He may have to use another to reach that person, but He is not stopped.
When we wander off the path (or choose to leave it) and then yell for help. He is not stopped because He’s grieved—He will be there, complete with love and forgiveness.
Confidence makes praying very different, too. No more panicked begging! He will not be stopped. He will accomplish everything He has planned.
So, think about it. See if it doesn’t give you a whole new way of seeing, too.