NEVER OUT OF REACH

I’ll never forget the first encounter I had with a pastor. I had BIG questions as an eleven-year-old — questions about salvation and what a true relationship with Jesus looked like. I was scared that I was too far from Jesus and that I had missed my chance to know the Lord! I felt like I was out of His reach.

After a Wednesday night small group class, standing in the hallway, I expressed my big concerns and the kind pastor told me something so simple, but it truly changed my perspective as a young child. He said, "The Lord is always with you; He holds onto your hand tightly and will never let you go; you mean so much to Jesus.” 

I didn’t step into a church (for the sole purpose of building a relationship with God) for another 7 years after that, but I held onto those words, and I believe that is part of what God used to call me near to Him years later.

I truly thought that I was broken.

I thought that my burdens were too heavy…

I thought that my sins were beyond forgiveness…

I thought that my emotional wounds were not capable of being healed…

I thought that my scars prohibited me from entering into His presence…

I thought that my hurts were beyond repair, but what I did not realize was that He was developing me the entire time—even if I disregarded His presence, He never left me. I hindered my relationship with the Lord because I put limits on His love, His mercy, and His grace.

God’s love for you is not limited by what you have done wrong or what you have done right.

It’s only limited by how much you allow Him to love you, heal you, and define you.

”No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.“

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭37‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The reach of God’s love has no limits.

Jesus died for YOU.

He died so that you could go down into the water in His name and be washed clean of your sins. 

His death gave us a freedom we did not deserve.

Jesus loves you SO much.

He loves you in the midst of your hurt, in your grief, in your heartache, and in your frustration.

He loves you in your disbelief.

So, wherever you’re at emotionally and spiritually, Jesus loves you fiercely! You’re so precious to Him!

I don’t know about you, but who am I to tell the Lord how to love me? 

I do not have that kind of power, and for that, I am so thankful!

He is a God of love, and He loves you more than you could ever imagine.

I hope this week you take the limits off of His love and open your heart to the work He wants to do through you; it’s a challenge I’m taking on as well.

You are never out of His reach or too “far gone"—it is just the beginning of a beautiful journey.

-Brooke Talley