Proverbs 28:13 “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes the will obtain mercy.”   I recently read the story about a man who grew up during the Great Depression.  He collected things that other people would simply throw away.  My parents grew up during this trying time and did the same thing.  This man kept a bucket of bent nails in his workshop.  When he needed a nail, he hammered it straight and used it again.  He knew that those nails were still useful, purposeful worth saving.  You could call it grace that the nail was not discarded but straightened out and used again.

As a Christian leader, we must view our lives and leadership in the same way.  We are not to stay in a bucket of bent nails.  God doesn’t discard us when we become distorted and misshapen by sin and disobedience.  We must let him hammer us straight again to be used as He intended.  To him, we are still useful and worth saving.  God doesn’t throw us away to become rusty and lost.  He tenderly and lovingly reshapes us when we are willing to place ourselves on the anvil of his love, grace and mercy.  The pain of being bent and misshapen can become a memory that has been straightened out when we allow him to do his work in us.  Think of what Jesus did for us when he bore the pain of Calvary’s nails to provide a way for us to keep our lives straightened out for his use.