As a kid growing up in a Pastor’s home we moved around quite a bit. It seemed like every few years we were moving to a new place. Changing schools. Making new friends. Getting to know a new area. While it was always an adventure, at times it was very difficult because I would just get familiar with our new locale and have made some new friends, and then we would move again. I was often envious of other kids that had “roots.” That grew up their entire lives in one place with life-long friends and relationships.
As a young man, I didn’t always understand why we had to move so much. However, as I reflect back on those times, and the reason behind all the moves, I have come to understand why we moved so much. You see, my father, Elisha Verret, was a “turnaround specialist.” He would be called in to take churches that were in trouble with declining membership, a building in need of repair, congregations that were split down the middle, and financial difficulties.
My father had the God-given ability and anointing to take troubled churches and turn them around. Though it’s been many years now, I can still remember most of the churches my dad was called to pastor. I remember the struggles, the long hours of hard work, and the times I heard my father in his study weeping before the Lord as he prayed for the people in the church and for wisdom to do what he had been called in to do. But more than anything, I remember the victories; the numerical growth in membership, the remodeled or newly built buildings, and a better financial situation than when we arrived. I remember the turnarounds that occurred not only in the church corporately but also in the lives of individuals.
Looking back I wouldn’t trade those days for anything in the world.
While, in my estimation, my dad was a great “turnaround specialist,” there is another “turnaround specialist” that I really want to focus on. His name is Jesus Christ!
When you read about the life and ministry of Jesus, you find story after story of lives that were turned around because of His ministry, His love, His touch, and His caring for the needs of others. You read about the prostitutes, tax collectors, lepers, lame, blind, deaf, demon-possessed, and religious people whose lives were totally changed and transformed because of this man Jesus! People who were outcast, hopeless, helpless, rejected, beat up, beat down; people whose lives were ravaged by life, by others, and by sin that were forever changed because of their encounter with the greatest “turnaround specialist” of all time. Jesus always left people better than they were before He found them!
The good news is that this Jesus “is the same yesterday, today, and forever!” He has never changed. His power has not diminished with time. His love, compassion and grace have never (and never will) come to an end. His mission and purpose have never deviated from what it was when He walked in shoe leather on this earth. He is still in the business (if I can use that term) of “seeking and saving that which is lost.” He is still all about radically changing the lives and the circumstances of those who come in contact with him.
I don’t know what you are going through today. Maybe it’s a sickness, a financial problem, an addiction you can’t seem to break. Maybe you are suffering from years of abuse, whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. Perhaps you have been rejected by your family, your friends, your loved ones, or people whom you have trusted. You may be lost when it comes to your purpose, your reason for existence. Maybe you have given up on life, lost hope, feel helpless, and are of the opinion “what’s the use.” Or maybe it’s something I haven’t listed here. Regardless of what it is Jesus wants you to know that He can turn your life around.
Regardless of what you have done, what you have experienced, who you’ve become, or what you are going through at this very moment, there is hope. There is a way out. Your life can turnaround. Things don’t have to stay the way they are. You don’t have to be bound to a life of sorrow, regret, pain, rejection, or hopelessness. No, there is a way out. I believe today, that God desires to turn your pain into power for His purpose. He desires to change your life from the inside out. He desires to undo the mess of your life and make it a message of hope to others going through what you’ve been through.
You see, God loves you not because of what you do or don’t do; He loves you because you are you. He created you. You are the apple of His eye. You mean the world to Him. Unlike others you have come in contact with, He doesn’t see you for who you’ve become or what you’ve done, He sees you for who you can and will become through His power in your life. He sees the finished product not just the work in progress!
I write this today because in my own life I know this to be true. I have personally experienced the work of the “turnaround specialist” in many areas of my life. I have seen God heal my body when the doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. I have seen God deliver me from things that had me bound from which I was unable to free myself from. I have seen God meet financial needs when there didn’t appear to be any way out of the difficulty I found myself in. I have seen God heal my broken heart from rejection, betrayal, and divorce. I have seen God restore the ministry He called me to as a young child, even though many had written me off as finished. (I could go on and on.)
Understand today, “God is no respecter of persons.” He doesn’t love or esteem one more than another. God doesn’t have favorites. His love for all mankind is unmerited. There is nothing you can do to earn his grace or favor. It is offered to ALL unconditionally. What God has done for one He will do for you. He desires to “show Himself strong” on your behalf. God desires to give you the “turnaround” you so desperately desire. And, He will, if you will come to Him and ask Him for it. If you will accept His grace and allow His power to begin to operate in your life.
Today is a great day! Why? Because today is the day when the greatest “turnaround specialist” of all times is going to begin to turn your life around for your good and His glory!
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