A Great Gulf Fixed

That’s a funny sounding title, isn’t it? What in the world does it mean!!! God has put me in a new season in my life. I was in darkness for many years of my life because of the abuse. I didn’t believe God’s Word and it took me a long time to trust Him. The Bible tells us that the devil wants to kill us. John 10:10, The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: …

I truly wish that people would understand that. The thief is the devil. He wants to destroy us. He is darkness. Jesus is the Light! We all know the difference between darkness and light. And yet we don’t apply that to our lives regarding our salvation. If we are not truly walking with God, in a right relationship with Him, then we are walking in darkness. We can go to church, we can read our Bibles, we can even pray, but if we are not being obedient in what God is telling us to do, then we are not right with Him, and that means we are walking in darkness. The Bible tells us how we are to walk with God. And I missed the mark for years. I went to church, I read my Bible and I even prayed.

But I walked in darkness because I did not trust God. I wasn’t obedient to Him. I believed the lies of the devil more than I believed God! In the Bible there is a story in Luke 16:19-31 about a rich man who had it all in this world, and there was a poor beggar who had nothing. Verse 22 “And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;”

Do you see the difference? One was carried by angels into Abraham’s bosom. The rich man died and was buried. And it gets even worse! Verse 23 “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.” Hell is a place of torment. And not just after we die. The way we live on this earth determines who we are serving, satan or Jesus. It makes a difference whether we are walking in darkness or in the light. That can determine what happens to us while on this earth, but also how we spend eternity.

It determined the outcome of how I have lived on this earth, and I didn’t realize it for too many years. Yes, the devil worked overtime to keep me from seeing the truth. Because the abuse in my life started from birth and continued for so many years of my life, that darkness is all I knew. I couldn’t imagine anything else. When I started going to church, and being filled with the Word of God, it seemed like a fairy tale. All I knew was hate, bitterness, anger and abuse. I was told how worthless I was so I struggled to believe God’s Word that said I had value and that I was loved.

The darkness in my life was so overwhelmingly convincing and true, that believing what God’s Word said truly was like believing lies and wishful thinking. I’m so grateful that God remains true to who He is. His Word says Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 14:5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor* forsake thee.”

Both of these Scriptures tells us that God will not forsake us. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

But it also says 2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

A day will come when it will be too late to choose the right path. While on this earth, if we choose to give our lives to Jesus, we have that opportunity. If we choose not to do so, then we have also made our choice for eternity. We do have the option to choose whatever we want to do, but we do not get to choose the consequences of our decisions. Luke 16:26 “And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.”

By the grace of God, I am walking in a new season in my life. God has put someone in my life who is mentoring me and discipling me and teaching me the truth of God’s Word and of who He is. He has been changing my life for the last few years. I can believe Him and trust Him. He is real and His Word is truth. He told me that He has adopted me. His Word tells us that in Ephesians 1:5 “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,”

This is for everybody. Even me. Even you. Don’t let the devil lie to you any longer. No matter what you have gone through, God wants you to know that He has something better for you. The devil wants to keep you bound up, walking in darkness for eternity. It is time to stand up and put him in his place. He will spend eternity in a place where there is no hope and no way out. Ask God to show you His truth so that you will not end up like the rich man. If you read the rest of that story, he begged Abraham to send someone to his 5 brothers, but Abraham told the rich man that he and his brothers had the same opportunity as the poor beggar. He could have chosen a relationship with Jesus, but instead chose the riches of this world. All those things will be burned up. We will not take one thing with us when we die.

What we will have is an eternity in Heaven or in hell. Nothing on this earth matters. But choosing Jesus and choosing to believe His Word, does change what happens in our life on this earth, and eternity.