Have you ever made a mistake? Have you ever had an accident in your life, whether big or small? Chances are if you are human, you have had at least one. I know that I have made plenty of mistakes and had quite a few accidents, and also in times past I have felt really bad about those mistakes and accidents as well.
If you have made a mistake or experienced an accident and have felt guilty about it or believed that the resulting negative consequence is what you deserved for your mistake, my friends I have wonderful news today. Jesus Christ can redeem you from your own mistakes and accidents.
It seems almost silly to discuss it at first… we are brought up in the world with the idea that mistakes are just part of learning and accidents are a normal every day part of life. Yet have you ever stopped to think that mistakes and accidents (or the consequences of them) were never part of God’s plan for us? It’s not something you normally hear, talk or even think about, but the Bible does mention it. Let’s take a look at Psalm 91:11-12:
“For he will give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.
They will bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Now many people may recognize this verse from having heard it or read it before – perhaps many times, but are we actually believing it for everything that it promises us? Let’s pick it apart and examine it more closely…
First we examine who the verse is referring to, that He will give His angels, there can be no question that this is God that this verse is talking about here. So then what is God doing?
He will give His angels charge over you.
The word “charge” used here is the Hebrew word tsavah which carries the meanings of “to join or send with”. So we can be assured that we have God appointing His angels to us, but for what purpose exactly?
To keep you in all of your ways.
The word “keep” here does not do the original text justice either, because the word in the Hebrew is actually the word shamar, which means “to guard, place a hedge around, protect and attend to”. A very rich word, and I am so glad that it is used in this context.
Now get ready because this is where our redemption from accidents comes in:
They will bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
I know that some of you are already beginning to see where this is going, but let’s examine it closely anyway. The word “dash” here is a very interesting word in the Hebrew… it is the word nagaf, which among other meanings also carries the connotation of “to hurt, or stub the toe”. And what would you call stubbing your toe? That’s right… an accident!
So we can see here that one of the benefits in Christ today is our complete protection from any kind of hurtful accident. So why do so few believers see this kind of protection today? Well one possible explanation is that you can not make use of something if you never knew that you had it. However now that you have seen this verse and your awareness is open to the provisions made by Jesus Christ for you, start claiming this verse in your life every day, and watch as it starts to manifest.
Now, what about mistakes? This one is actually much easier than the accidents above.
To understand this simply, we must know the definitions of two words: Mistake, and sin.
A mistake is an error in action, judgment, belief or perception. Basically anything that you do or think wrongly is a mistake. That is the short definition of mistake as a verb.
Sin is defined as a verb as anything that comes short of the glory and perfection of God.
So as we look at these two definitions, we can see quite clearly that any mistake is a sin and an sin is a mistake when dealings with the verbs (actions). So can Jesus redeem us from mistakes? As surely as He can redeem us from sins! The original sin in the Garden of Eden was nothing more than a mistake of believing and acting incorrectly, and we have most assuredly been redeemed from Adam’s sin by Jesus Christ today!
So what does this mean for us today? Personally in my past I have made mistakes, many of which I felt guilty for and believed that I needed to suffer the consequences of my bad choices. I was simply “reaping what I sowed” or “getting what I deserved.” And I know that many people still believe the way I did and are feeling the way I used to feel. But the message that I have for you today straight from the scriptures is that Jesus Christ has reaped everything that we sowed when He hung on that cross, and He got everything that we deserved – and in return He has given to us all that He deserves. All of His blessings, all of His righteousness, all of His deliverance, all of His wisdom and all of His peace and healing is ours today. That is the definition of redemption.
You can claim all of these things in your life today because He paid to give them to you. You are not making an unworthy demand, you are making a valid claim on something that is rightfully yours because of Jesus Christ.
Stand on it. Because the work is finished. You are redeemed in Christ.