Others let us know when we fall short... We tell ourselves... and most of all, we let it define us.
Failure was knocking at my door and in that moment I wanted to give in to it. to quit. to give up. CONDEMNATION was speaking rather loudly!
But then... another knock sounded and i cracked open the door. What if it was one of your boys? What would you say to them?
-get up. try again. it's not the end of the world.
Hmmm... So why am I having a hard time believing those same words of advice for myself? Why do I look at failure as a bad thing for myself??
I asked God, "How do You view failure or when we mess up?"
This was the reply that softly filled my thoughts...
Adam and Eve...
they messed up. They took of the fruit, while full well knowing they weren't supposed to. They knew immediately that what they did was WRONG.
(can anyone relate? I can.)
So they did what I so quickly and easily do... hide. They went and hid themselves. They felt the shame and condemnation of having known better and yet choosing otherwise.
What did God do?? Did He let them go? No. He pursued them. He waited until evening and asked them what they did?
He engaged with them, He continued to love them. Yes, His heart was grieved. Disobedience was given consequence. But He LOVED them, still! GOD DID NOT ABANDON THEM! And HE WON'T YOU either!
He loved them enough that He planned a redemption plan. One that cost a lot. It cost Him His all. Jesus! (Do I love like that?)
Their failure was not the end of the world for God. And it isn't the end for you or me, either.
Yes, His heart longs for more for us. Yes, He loves us still. But most of all He wants us to repent. To turn our hearts toward Him for His redemption plan.
There are no if-onlys in the Bible.
If-only Adam and Eve had not eaten the fruit...
If-only they would have listened...
If-only... if-only...
then I (God) wouldn't have had to send Jesus to die for your mistake...
The if-onlys that ring loudly in our ears are not there...
Redemption is. God's love continues on..
Failure is NOT the end of the world. Redemption is. LOVE. IS.
So pick up your head. Look to the Saviour. Rest in His embrace of love. Acknowledge your mistake... It does NOT define you.
God's Greater Truth does. And that Truth is...
You are precious. Precious enough that He gave His all. His very life for our mistakes.
Thank Him by choosing His redemption plan. Love Him back.
Again. FAILURE IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD.
Redemption is.
In all the mess-ups and failures recorded in the Bible, there was no condemnation, unless the individual refused to repent.
Jesus always invited or called the individual to repentance with questions. He did not cover over the wrong-doing. He spoke into it, but never condemned.
That came after the individual's choice to walk away from His redemption.
Go. And sin no more. Neither do I condemn you... were Jesus' words to the adulteress woman. They are ours, too, when we choose to look to the Redeemer for salvation.
She received grace.
The Pharisees felt the condemnation. Jesus never spoke the words. But it is there for the unrepentant.
Grace is given to the one who leans into God's redemption for the mistake.
So, the next time condemnation knocks at the door. Answer it fair and square by taking it the Father and hearing His words of Truth. The Greater Truth that needs and must trump the truth of the failure...
AGAIN... Failure IS NOT the end of the world. Redemption is!!!
(something that must be breathed into this soul of mine. absorbed. inhaled)
Repent and believe! Believe Jesus' Greater Truth.
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