Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

DAILY READING –  Acts 17:16-34; Judges 7-8; Job 37

Jackie Robinson was an American professional baseball player who became the first  African American to play in  Major League Baseball in the modern era. He is known as one of the greatest baseball players in history. However what many people may not know is that he started life on the wrong track. Growing up in relative poverty as a poor black kid, Jackie joined a neighborhood gang. As a teenager, he became the leader of this street gang that majored in petty thefts and malicious mischiefs. The gang members became such a miserable trouble in the neighborhood, that to the police, Jackie became a priority take-down. However, Jackie’s mother was a woman of powerful Christian faith. She committed him to God in prayer and believed God for a miracle. Indeed, the Lord answered her prayers. Gradually, faith in God began to register in Jackie as he turned from his evil ways and turned his attention back to his studies and sports. An exceptional base runner, he became the highest-paid athlete in Dodgers’ history, and his success in the major leagues opened the door for other African-American players. He is celebrated today as a legendary sportsman.

Many times when men see the glory, they don’t know the story. Jackie started out on the wrong track, he could have lived and died as an unknown criminal, but God’s grace intervened. God gave him a change of identity and change of story and where once he was despised, he became celebrated. In the Bible, we also read the story of Jacob, who started off on the wrong lane, as a supplanter, with a bad reputation but when he encountered God, God gave him a change of name and a change of story. We see the same Jacob transformed to become Israel, a patriarch and monumental figure in the Bible. This is to say that there is no situation so bad that God cannot change it; there is no destiny so battered that God cannot recover it. God is in the business of second chances.

It doesn’t matter what has happened to you in the past or how negative your story has been, what matters is what God says about you, and God has the final say over your destiny. That is to say you can always retrace your steps and head in the right direction. You can recover from poverty, disease, disfavor, etc. You can recover from a life of mediocrity and low impact, and move forward. You can recover from broken relationships and hurts, and have a fresh start. No matter how long that situation may have lingered, you can always make a U-turn and head back on the path of destiny God has for you. Don’t let the past label you or condemn you to a life of running on the wrong track. You can make a comeback. You may not be able to undo the past, but you can change the present and the future with the Lord’s help. Jeremiah 29:11 says, God wants to give you “a future and a hope”, so allow God to heal your past and transform your life into something beautiful. He did it for Jacob, He did it for Jackie Robinson, He can also do it for you. Believe God for a miracle today and a change of story. Trust that God will indeed give you a second chance. His glory will surely be seen upon you. In the place of ashes God will give you beauty. And in the place of shame He will deck you with His glory. And for your troubles, He will indeed give you double in Jesus Name.

PRAYER: Lord, I know You have so much in store for me, please enable me to meditate constantly on Your Word so that my heart can be filled with the faith I need for a supernatural change of story in Jesus Name.

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God knows how to work everything together in your life for your own good