What do you do when you REALLY mess up life big time?  If you’re like me, you’ve done it way more than one or two occasions.  Sometimes, it happens in public and you feel as if a huge spotlight is focused on you, with everybody gaping.  It’s one time you don’t want to be the center of attention!  

I had just begun conducting Communion during a Sunday service and one of my deacons was helping me take off the sheet protecting the elements.  Then it happened.  In front of everyone, he grabbed the wrong sheet!  Instead of the covering cloth, he got a firm grip on the sheet under the elements, and pulled it toward him.  Cups, juice, plates and bread followed, spraying everywhere and dousing him thoroughly.  Years later, we can now laugh about it, but it wasn’t a bit funny at the time.

 
If your life’s a big mess right now, you’re probably using one or more of these phrases. “I can’t believe I did this again!”  “How am I going to face my family and friends?” “How will I ever straighten up this mess?”  And worst of all:  “I don’t see how God can love me.”

 
At your favorite grocery store, the announcement goes out over the loudspeaker:  “Spill on Aisle 9!” Employees rush to aisle 9 with buckets and mops.  Nearby onlookers peek around the corner of the aisle just to see how bad the spill is, and who did it.

 
But what if YOU are the spill?  You need cleaning up and your life put back in order, and you know it’s beyond your power.  That’s where God comes in.  He sees every spill you have, major or minor, and He still loves you.  His Spirit not only convicts you of your wrongdoing so you can make it right with God, He also guides you back into the correct path, where you can still live for Christ.

 
It’s okay to be embarrassed and feel guilty for what you’ve done.  In fact you should feel both emotions.  But you don’t need to stay stuck there.  Confess your sin, turn away from it, and learn a lesson from the experience.  

Spills happen, but God’s love is always there, ready to “clean up in aisle 9,” as well as every area of your life.  Did you notice the word “always” in the last sentence?  God promises that for you.  Look at the verse below:

“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22–23, NIV84) 

This passage says in essence, “God’s great love and compassion never fail.”  Both mean God will forever be there for you, cleaning up the spills and setting you on your feet again.