WHEN THE PARTY’S OVER: How God Finds Us in Our Darkest Moments

By the sound of their laughter, the beach party had just gotten started. But as I staggered toward the bonfire, I realized that the party was over for me.

I groped through the darkness, hoping to gather up the pieces of a life that I'd misplaced and find the path that led back home.

I hadn't lost my salvation, but I'd lost sight of who I was.

The worst in us can happen to the best of us.

If one too many glasses of wine isn't a temptation, there are a million other ways that lead us astray. One wrong choice leads to another, and before we know it, we've drifted far from the kind of life we want to live.

Since the beginning of time, God's people have been known to take a few wrong turns.

But there's good news for us who fall short of the glory of God. When our hearts wander far, our faithful Father quickly sets course to bring His children near.

The Bible tells us about a man who forgot who he was and came to live among the tombstones in a cemetery, cut off from everyone he loved.

What may have begun as a few missteps led to a trap where evil forces harassed and enslaved him. But God had a plan to set him free.

As dark powers worked to destroy this man's life, Jesus arrived with the omnipotent power to overcome them.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full," Jesus said in John 10:10.

When the enormity of our failure threatens to overwhelm, the Prince of Peace gently reaches out with a simple invitation, "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened."

Just like Jesus came to that desperate man, His grace is headed straight for you.

No matter how far you've gone, God's grace will reach you right in the nick of time.

You may have forgotten who you are for a brief moment, but Jesus has called your name for eternity. What the enemy has stolen, God will one day restore.

So when Jesus shows up in the middle of your messy bonfire or lonely graveyard, don't cower in shame.

Look up.

Jesus didn't come to condemn the world, but to save it one wandering soul at a time.

That includes you and me, God's beloved, broken believers.

Repent. Return. Remember. Rejoice.

Then, get ready.

The real party's about to begin.