Everybody goes through failures, times when we make wrong decisions and fall. The fall varies in intensity at times, from flunking an exam, to losing a job, to hurting one's spouse. But no matter how much we hate to fall, the truth remains that we aren't perfect – we're all able to do something wrong, think something wrong, and decide wrong.
But no matter how deep the fall, what matters is what we do after it. Do we stay down, or do we get up? I pray we choose the latter.
Great Men Fall, Too
Dear reader, if you have fallen and have lost hope in yourself, I know how you feel. I've lost hope one too many times after failing to reach a goal, falling short of a requirement, and in failing to do what I'm supposed to do. I've thrown the towel once in my life, and it took me a while to take it back.
But I did take it back. After a period of healing.
You see, my friend, all men great and small fall. The Bible is full of examples showing us just how flawed we are, no matter how great we may seem:
- David, the man after God's own heart, fell into adultery and even added a murder plot to his offence (see 2 Samuel 11);
- Samuel, the great prophet who anointed kings, regretted anointing Saul after the latter fell into disgrace (see 1 Samuel 15:34-36);
- Solomon, the wisest man ever, made wrong decisions that badly affected the nation he ruled (see 1 Kings 11);
- Peter, Jesus' own disciple, abandoned Christ (see John 18:15-27); and
- John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, fell to worship the angel who told him about God (see Revelation 19:10).
We could go on with the list, but I think by now you got the point. Men of God are simply men. We're all imperfect, in fact we're NOTHING without God. But in God, we're something. Through Christ, we can do everything.
And part of that "everything" is "getting back up."
Get Back!
No matter how painful our fall, God can heal us. No matter how deep we fell into the mess we got ourselves in, with Christ's strength we can get out. No matter how far we've walked into the wilderness we stumbled upon as lost and confused men, the Holy Spirit can guide us back to the right path.
But we have to decide to go back.
We have to admit that we're in too deep, way too far, and hurt too much. And we have to stop staying where we are and go back to God. We have to confess our sin, repent of our wrongdoing, embrace God's grace, and live right again for the glory of God.
- David repented and served God again (see 2 Samuel 12:13; Acts 13:36).
- Samuel got up to serve the Lord once more (see 1 Samuel 16:1-13).
- Solomon returned to his senses and gave the best lesson of his life to all (see Ecclesiastes 12).
- Peter returned and lived for Christ until his death (see John 21:7; Acts).
- John stood up and declared that Christ is coming soon (see Revelation 22:8-21).
My friend, if they stood up after a fall, you can, too. Stand up. Stop lying down. Start living the way God wants you to. God bless you.
