This Hot Mess

If you know me for more than like, a day, then you have probably heard me refer to myself as a ‘hot mess’. It’s totally what the kids say these days. I have a dear friend who just shakes her head and giggles at me when I say this about myself, she thinks I’m silly for thinking this way.

One of my most favorite t-shirts says... you guessed it, “Jesus Loves This Hot Mess”. I get compliments every time I wear it. I think I love it so much because it reminds me that Jesus never asked me to be perfect.

I feel like a hot mess a lot of mornings at about 8:55 AM. I am still pouring coffee, throwing food into lunch boxes, trying to get my child’s coat on him, going over the list in my head and scrambling out the door... when I should have been in the car driving out of the neighborhood 15 minutes earlier. “I am always late!” I tell myself. “Ugh, when will I get my life together? I am such a hot mess”

Work’s got you down, feel like a hot mess?

Had a fight with your spouse, feel like a hot mess?

Yelled at your child, feel like a hot mess?

Laundry piled high, feel like a hot mess?

Financial mismanagement,

Haven’t made up with your friend,

Can’t forgive your sister,

Feeling like Monday is on repeat,

Haven’t been to church in months...

Feel like a hot mess?

Whatever part of the spectrum you are on, it is easy to feel like a hot mess. But just like my t-shirt is a reminder for me, I want to remind you that Jesus loves you!

Truth be told, I’m not really a hot mess. Neither are you. So don’t stay stuck there and don’t let it pull you away from God.

Ever tell yourself you are just too messy to be anywhere near God? I know I have. Oh yeah, I have. “I am just too much of a mess right now to (praise, worship, thank) pray to God, He doesn’t want to hear what I have to say.” Allow me to let you in on a little secret, God is not afraid of your messy.

“Then I realized that my heart was bitter and I was all torn up inside. I was so foolish and ignorant-- I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. Yet I still belong to you: you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.” Psalm 73:21-24 (NLT)

When David was angry, bitter and confused; he acted like a fool. I am sure he felt like a hot mess. Yet he recognized that he still belonged to God. He belonged to God and God was guiding him, providing counsel and leading David into his glorious destiny!

God is not afraid of your messy!

Don’t let your “sometimes messy” lead you in the wrong direction. Put your faith and trust in the truth that God is right there with you, guiding you, counseling you and leading you into your destiny. Lay your messy down right there at His feet and let Jesus minister to you. Don’t shy away from God when you feel like the ‘Hot Mess Express’ (oh yeah, I had to pull that one out). Recognize, just like David did, that you still belong to God.

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26 (NIV)

When the world has got you down, let God be your strength. When you are bogged down with life’s blunders and complications, remember who you belong to... forever!

“But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.” Psalm 73:28 (NLT)

If you are feeling, or have ever felt, like a hot mess I have the remedy; three parts praise, two parts thanksgiving and one part testimony. Don’t neglect God in those moments, praise God for who He is, thank Him for what He has done, and testify about what He is doing!

God’s not afraid of our messy. He is right there with us, asking us to be faithful. Trust Him, even when your heart and flesh fail you.

You will probably still hear me refer to myself as a hot mess sometimes, but only because I know God is not afraid of my messy. I belong to Him, he is holding my right hand, guiding me in His counsel, leading me into a glorious destiny! 

Post by: Jimmie Lee DiIanni