O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.
Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

Psalm 139:1-8

This morning I watched a video to introduce a sermon series named “Mended.” The video was simple. It included a few statements saying things like “I am worthless” “I can’t be forgiven.” “I am worthless.”

Encouraging words, right? But it ended with a message of hope for renewal and redemption. A broken life can be mended.

One of my favorite passages is this simple verse – “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Why is that a favorite verse? I am in desperate need of the Savior. On my own, I am unforgiven. I am without hope. Even my “best self” falls short consistently in so many ways.

So, I read the words of David in the Psalm above and I am reminded that in spite of my many, many failings, there is a God who knows me and still loves me. I am unworthy yet I am loved. That is something we should all embrace.

So how will we respond to God’s great love? Paul writes again that “godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death” (II Corinthians 7:10). Let us grieve and then live without regret.