"One stumble does not define or break a person."

A thought by Max Lucado, from his book, Begin Again (p. 25). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

That is so true, we hope!

Max says, "When you lost your job, flunked the exam, dropped out of school. When your marriage went south. When your business went broke. When you failed. The voices began to howl. Monkeys in a cage, they were, laughing at you. You heard them.

"And you joined them! You disqualified yourself, berated yourself, upbraided yourself. You sentenced yourself to a life of hard labor in the Leavenworth of poor self-worth. Oh, the voices of failure."

He goes on, "Failure finds us all. Failure is so universal we must wonder why more self-help gurus don’t address it. Bookstores overflow with volumes on how to succeed. But you’ll look a long time before you find a section called 'How to Succeed at Failing.'"

"Maybe no one knows what to say. But God does. His book is written for failures. It is full of folks who were foul-ups and flops but got a second chance. David was a moral failure, yet he became a man after God’s own heart. Elijah was an emotional train wreck after Mount Carmel, but God used him to bring outpourings of God’s grace. Jonah was in the belly of a fish when he prayed his most honest prayer and then brought revival to Nineveh.

"Perfect people? No. Perfect messes? You bet. Yet God used them. A surprising and welcome discovery of the Bible is this: God uses failures.

"One stumble does not define or break a person. Though you failed, God’s love does not. Face your failures with faith in God’s goodness."

He continues, "In God’s hands no defeat is a crushing defeat. 'The steps of good men are directed by the Lord. He delights in each step they take. If they fall, it isn’t fatal, for the Lord holds them with his hand' (Ps. 37:23–24 TLB).

"How essential it is that you understand this. Miss this truth and miss your new beginning. You must believe that God’s grace is greater than your failures. Pitch your tent on promises like this one: 'There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus . . . who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit' (Rom. 8:1, 4 NASB)."

He then says, "Everyone stumbles. The difference is in the response. Some stumble into the pit of guilt. Others tumble into the arms of God. Those who find grace do so because they 'walk according . . . to the Spirit.' They hear God’s voice. They make a deliberate decision to stand up and lean into God’s grace."

So, will you make that decision to stand up and lean into God's grace? Will you face your failures with faith in God's goodness? Will you?

Yes, yes!

Comments

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