Here is a word of encouragement for living the Christian life. “Don’t let failure give way to failure.” Perhaps there is an area of your life where determined to do better. You prayed that you would have victory. And, yet you find yourself continuing to stumble. So, you are tempted to just say, “Oh forget it.” I will never be able to get a handle on this.
If that is where you are at, then hear this verse from Proverbs 24:16,
For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.(Pr 24:16).
The verse does not say that the righteous never stumble or fall. No, the difference is that even though a righteous many may stumble seven times, he still gets up again.
If you are a Christian you do not need to let failure give way to failure. The book of Lamentations tells us that the mercies of the Lord are new every morning. So, even if you have stumbled seven times, get up again. Find a mature Christian who will keep you accountable. Get help in finding victory.
As C.S. Lewis encouraged:
No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep picking ourselves up each time. We shall of course be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home. But the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out, and the clean clothes in the airing cupboard. The only fatal thing is to lose one’s temper and give up. It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us, it is the very sign of his presence.” C.S. Lewis quoted in Garland, David E. Colossians/Philemon The NIV Application Commentary, ed. Terry Muck. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.
Don’t let failure give way to failure. Get up off the ground and press forward for Christ’s glory and your joy. Have the same attitude as Paul when he said:
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.(Php 3:12-14)."
Thanks Chris! I really needed to hear this message this morning!
Steve, so encouraging to hear from you. It’s always nice to know people are out there reading.
Press on!
A great message! We have some family members really hurting right now. I’m directing them here. I also spent much of the morning re-reading the posts on “unpacking forgiveness”, praying that if someone has a teen that is still at home and within reach, maybe they can be spared the heartache these parents are going through.
hallelujah for this post!
Thanks Hailey. That’s encouraging. And, my wife will love the sub-title of your blog if I remember to show it to her.