God’s royal family in Genesis was a bit seamy. Consider Abraham’s family. He slept with his female slave and later consented to his wife’s desire to banish the woman and his son by sending her into the wilderness (Genesis 21:14). What family could be worse than that?

Isaac’s family. They were divided down the middle as each parent picked a favorite son. Then one son plotted to kill the other for ripping him off (Genesis 27:41). What family could be worse than that?

Jacob’s family. One man slept with two wives and two slaves, each desperately trying to produce sons for “Team Leah” or “Team Rachel.” Later, out of hatred, the older sons sold their brother Joseph to slave traders and let their father believe that “a wild animal must have eaten him” (Genesis 37:33).

We can’t excuse what any of these people did, but it’s comforting to know that God was not less in their mess. His sovereign plan was not threatened by their sin.

We have all done things we regret. Some of us have really messed up our lives. How we long for a do-over! Whatever we’ve done, we can remember two things:

• You have not messed up your life more than these families.

• God remained in complete control of these families, and He’s not threatened by your sin.

When King David sinned by counting his fighting men, he stopped the ensuing plague by erecting an altar “on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite” (2 Samuel 24:18). It was on this land that Solomon, David’s son with Bathsheba, later built the temple (2 Chronicles 3:1). As one preacher has said, “Only God can take a man’s two biggest sins and make a temple out of them.”

Don’t despair over your sin. God is the best at cleaning up a mess.

NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Luke 4:16-30