NOT FATAL

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Sometimes the best of us fall down.  We are human.  And while that is not an excuse, it is a reality.  We get it wrong sometimes.  Probably more times than what we would care to admit.  But there are the occasions when “a big one” really knocks us off of our skis.

We start doubting our commitment to Christ and recovery.

We get flooded with those awful feelings of guilt and shame.

We consider throwing in the towel or worse yet begin to feel that we will never get IT right.

That was my friend last night.

Life had been clipping along with limited bumps.

He was staying straight. (and that in itself is huge!)

He was holding a job.

He had a place to lay his head.

Life and recovery were proceeding as planned.

Then things began to unravel and he fell.  He fell hard. 

Most of my FREEDOM folks (myself included) when we fall, it usually is hard: we don’t tend to ease our way back into the mess rather we usually jump head first into the pool that has no water.

Hence he was pretty discouraged.  He felt that all the good work was down the drain because he fell.

Have you felt that way before? Have you experienced those moments when life was going along just fine and suddenly your old nature comes out of nowhere and sabotages all of your efforts?  Have you then had the enemy come down around you like the clichéd ton of bricks with all of his condemnation and guilt as a result?

I am going to venture to say you have. We all have.

Yet we must remember. It is not as much about the fall, the failure or the sin as much as it about HOW DO WE DEAL WITH IT!

Do we listen to the enemy and believe his condemnation or lean on the truth?

Romans 8

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

Do we stay down; defeated and demolished by the failure or do we listen to GOD and get back up?

Proverbs 24:16

…for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again

Do we stay in the muck or rather own the mistakes, confess them and get moving again with life and our walk?

Ephesians 4:23-24

…everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.

Rick Warren made this mention of failures and falling…

Failure isn't fatal — it's normal! Just look around. All of us mess up from time to time. Somebody recently gave me a book, "The (Incomplete) Book of Failures: The Official Handbook of the Not-Terribly-Good Club of Great Britain." When they printed the book, they forgot to print the first two pages and had to add it later. Even the book was a failure!

That is good stuff right there!  

No one is perfect!

Falls and failure are part of the human condition. But as Rick points out, they are not fatal.

We can all overcome failure and falls when we admit them to God and keep doing what God has called us to do regardless of the setbacks. The Bible is chocked full of failures who overcame and persevered.  We are no different.

So if you are like my friend this morning; still reeling a little from a “big fall” or a seemingly cataclysmic failure, get up dust off and get back to work. 

Failure is not fatal.

Psalm 145:14

The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down...

 

I love you all!

HAVE A BLESSED DAY!

Freedom Church

 

Pastor GDelaney