Sometimes I think God loves to shock us, surprise us, and knock us off our toes. One morning I was having my customary talk with God. I try to be still and quiet and LISTEN to what God might have to say to me. On this particularly sunny morning, as I sat on my patio near the dew-covered, manicured golf course grass, I felt God’s presence. My heart had been heavy of late, and I asked:
“God, why am I seen as dynamic by some, and after a while they become adverse to me? It seems to be a pattern I have noticed.”
God said to me, “You are a ‘Bad Guy,’ but you win!”
Shocked, I replied, in complete disbelief, “What?”
“You are a bad guy–you fall short of the expectation of man, as a young man, yet you continue in life to win! In the flesh others believe that you do not deserve to win. They think that you should fail because you are a BAD Guy.”
God continued: “Let me say it another way to you, “Jesus came to save the BAD GUYs. You are a bad guy, and Jesus came to save you. In saving you, you become a winner in life, Blessed of the Father, Held Close by the Son, and Indwelled by the Holy Spirit. How can you lose?”
“Your story will touch hearts for the Kingdom. Your story is that ‘Bad Guys Win!’ How many people in this world feel bad about themselves, condemn themselves, persecute themselves, and relate to being ‘bad’?”
My mind started racing and thoughts flew into my head. How many people did I know who are tired of being told that they are sinners? (The word “sin” in Hebrew is actually several different words, defining specific sins.)
God interrupted: “Most do not relate to sin, but they can relate to being BAD. So if anyone is Bad, let him come to Me, and I will make him GOOD. As your Father, this is a winning testimony for me, for this time, and this place. Think about your life every time you have reached success in the flesh and someone has turned on you. Why did that happen?”
God kept speaking to me: “I can say to you, ‘They think you are a bad guy and do not deserve to win.’”
I remembered Dr. Thomas Harris’s book, I’m OK–You’re OK and thought of the line, “I’m okay, and you are NOT okay.”
But God continued: “That is not exclusive to you, but your testimony has dramatic results, ups and downs of business, and life from hell to Heaven. I tell you this day that you could not have told this story until you recognized GRACE and then Truth. Grace comes and then you can see truth. All of your success is because of MY GRACE.”
Praise GOD.
I am a Bad Guy, but I win in Him!
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
–Hunter Carr