05/28/2026
“The way of the transgressor is hard…”
I know the truth of this Scripture all too well.
We like to think our hardship is the fault of others.
We like to think the devil made me do it.
We like to think we are helpless victims of our emotions and spiraling thinking…
We like to blame our own thoughts and actions on any number of things.
I remember vividly places and times in my life that were this kind of hard…
Sitting locked in a jail cell.
Getting booked into a psychiatric ward.
Getting fired from a good job.
Getting the phone call from my wife that she had taken our children and left me.
Waking up in a strange parking lot after passing out drunk the night before.
Sitting on the side of a bed with a loaded g*n in my mouth and tears on my cheeks.
The list goes on…
It wasn’t others that put me there.
It was my own actions.
From the moment I developed self-awareness as a child, I began a series of decisions that has led me to today.
My entire life is formed by the decisions I make every day. Each decision matters. I sow the seeds today for tomorrow’s harvest.
Yes, we are negatively acted upon by others who should be helping us.
Yes, we are placed in circumstances not of our own choosing.
Yes, life isn’t fair and the playing field isn’t the same level for everyone.
But hear this.
No matter the number of talents we start with, we are responsible for what we do with them.
As long as we are breathing and as long as God is alive, not one of us is helpless.
The cards may be stacked against you, but God owns the deck and this world spins on His axis, and there is no circumstance he cannot redeem.
Here’s the secret…
I must yield in faith.
I must obey His revealed will.
I must choose to forgive.
I must receive His forgiveness.
And by His grace, I CAN do all these things.
It is not others who keep me from doing this.
Only I myself can keep me from doing this.
I must take responsibility for myself and get humble before God, and I will find grace to help in time of need.
I must realize, I do not own this life of mine and neither does anyone else but God and God alone.
He is the beginning and the end, and the sooner I align with His purposes, the happier I will be.
I sit here today thanking God for what I have learned from the hard way of my transgressions.
The Lord is merciful.
Faith works.
Love wins.
Hope endures.
I just got off the phone with someone who’s way is very hard today because of their transgressions.
I told them there is a different way…
I’m praying they will see it, and choose it, and walk free.
- JFG
