God calls us to a standard of living that is different from that of the world. We are called to be holy as He is holy. However, as people living in a fallen world, we come to quickly realize that our sinful nature can overcome our spiritual callings. For the purpose of this devotional, when I mention failure I am referring to a failure in terms of sin; knowing what is right, but doing the opposite. In this article we are going to look at what to do when we fail, and how to fail with grace.
The first thing that we need to do in a failure is accept fault.
I mean is, when we have a failure in our walk, then we must accept that we did the wrong thing; it’s the first step to true spiritual reconciliation. Many of us have heard the phrase the Devil made me do it, however, James 1:13-15 paints a different picture.
James tells us that it is our own desires that cause us to fall into Satan's temptations. Look at it this way, Satan knows if you have a weakness to alcohol, but he didn’t make you swallow the liquid. You did that on your own, because you wanted to.
We cannot blame our friends, our spouse or even Satan for the sins that we commit. We can, however, see the reality of the situation, which might be our own desires to put our wants above those of God.
When we fail, we must be able to accept our own faults.
The next thing that we do after we fail is seek forgiveness.
Once we are able to accept our responsibility in the situation, we can then move forward and seek forgiveness from God and others that have been affected by our failure.
Take for instance the story of the prodigal son from Luke 15. The younger son took his inheritance and wasted it on wild living. He failed his father. Verse 17 tells us of the moment that he accepted fault and verse 18 shows us how the child immediately began to seek forgiveness.
The father of the parable exemplifies the words of 1 John 1:9. This is the same forgiveness that we can expect from God today. We approach Him with the shame of a child who failed their parents, but God, in His faithfulness, will forgive our sins and purify us.
Finally, once we accept fault and seek forgiveness, we must grow through reflection.
We will go through a period of reflection on our failure. What we do and think in these moments will either cause spiritual growth or spiritual dullness. We can accept that God has forgiven us and learn from this moment of failure or we can allow our minds and hearts to harden, either toward ourselves or others.
When we reflect on our failures, we can go back and see the things that we should have done versus those that we did. We can go back and hear the words that we should have said versus those that we did.
Remember, above all else that our failures do not determine our futures. God can restore anyone and anything no matter how far or hard we have fallen.
Let the words of Isaiah 44:22 ring through your hearts and minds. I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.
When we fail we must
Accept fault
Seek forgiveness
grow through reflection
If you have an questions or need to reach out to us for anything, please feel free to reach out to us.
Comments