The Turnaround #RTTBROS #Nightlight

The Turnaround

The story of John Newton

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

John Newton was about as far from a minister as you could get. He was a slave trader, a profane man who lived a rough life on the seas. His mother had taught him about God as a child, but he had long since forgotten those lessons. He was, by his own admission, a wretch.

But on March 10, 1748, everything changed. Newton's ship was caught in a violent storm off the coast of Ireland. As the ship was taking on water and it looked like they might not survive, Newton cried out to God for mercy. They made it through that storm, and Newton's life was never the same.

He left the slave trade, studied for the ministry, and eventually became a pastor. But his greatest contribution might have been a hymn he wrote that told his story: "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see."

That hymn has probably done more to spread the gospel than any sermon ever preached. It's been translated into dozens of languages, sung by believers around the world, and has brought comfort to countless people in their darkest hours.

Here's what amazes me about Newton's story: God didn't waste any of his past. All those years at sea, all those experiences with difficult people, all the hardships he had endured, God used them to make him a more effective minister. His past gave him credibility with people who might have never listened to someone who had lived a sheltered life.I think sometimes we believe that our past disqualifies us from being used by God. We think our mistakes, our failures, our poor choices have put us on the bench permanently. But that's not how God works. He's in the business of redemption, of taking the broken pieces of our lives and making something beautiful out of them.Maybe you're sitting there thinking your past is too messy, your failures too great, your mistakes too many. Let me remind you of something: if God could use a slave trader to write "Amazing Grace," He can use you too. Your comeback story might be exactly what someone else needs to hear today.God is still in the business of amazing grace, and that grace is sufficient for you.

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