Written by Dawn Rutan
Desiring God recently shared a good word on their blog. Author Paul Maxwell writes:
“The next time you’re tempted to say ‘I hate myself’ because of the lingering sin in your life, take a deep breath, regroup, read Psalm 139, and get back in the game. ‘The righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity’ (Proverbs 24:16). The righteous fall. Falling is not the defining issue. The wicked listen to the accuser (Revelation 12:10) and don’t get back up. The righteous get back up.” (See http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/autocorrect-and-indwelling-sin for the full article.)
That reminded me of some other Scriptures such as Luke 22:31-32: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (ESV). Jesus didn’t pray that Simon Peter would not betray Him, but only that his faith would not fail. Assuming that Jesus’ prayers are always answered, it’s interesting that faith doesn’t keep Peter from falling, but it does keep him from being permanently lost to the enemy. And Jesus is praying the same thing for each of us: “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25, see also Romans 8:34).
Another encouraging Scripture comes from Micah 7:8: “Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.” It’s not “if I fall,” but “when I fall.” There’s little doubt that I will fall again, and again, and again… But by faith I will get back up and keep moving forward.
One of my favorite Scriptures is Psalm 37:23-24: “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when He delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.” I can just see the Father holding tightly to the toddler’s hand as she stumbles along the way.
Our enemy would have us believe that every fall is terminal and we are unredeemable. The discouragement and doubt that set in only trip us up even more. We need frequent reminders that God’s love is stronger than any sin, and He has made provision for every one of our failures through Jesus’ death on the cross. We also need to remember that although perfection is a worthy goal, only Jesus attained that goal while on earth. No matter how far we progress in this life, we’ll still be far from perfect.
I keep going back to a statement made by Brennan Manning on multiple occasions, “God expects more failure of me than I expect of myself.” We seem to think that one day soon we’ll get it all together and won’t succumb to temptation anymore. But God, in His infinite knowledge, already knows how weak we are and how many times we’ll fail to obey. The Apostle John sent out this reminder: “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for His name’s sake” (1 John 2:12). Other translations say “your sins have been forgiven.” The act of forgiveness has been completed, nothing more is required. Therefore we are free to get back up and try again.
With all that in mind, here’s my loose paraphrase of Micah 7:8:
“When I fall, I will get back up. I won’t believe the enemy’s lies that I am hopeless and helpless. I will accept God’s forgiveness and by faith I will get up and move on.”
Image © Dawn Rutan. All rights reserved.
