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How do I get back up after I fall?
Series: 30 Day Next Steps
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him.
2 Peter 1:3 NIV
A critical point in your spiritual life is when you stumble. It seems to happen when you least suspect. You’re making progress in your growth, such as overcoming a bad habit, then, boom! Without warning, you do something “really stupid,” such as suddenly bursting into anger or insulting your best friend.
What we do immediately after we fall is critical. If we’re not careful, we can, out of guilt or shame, draw away from the Lord. “I’ve blown it. I’m a failure.” Or we may try to justify ourselves: “He deserved my tongue-lashing!” The farther we go down this path, the more difficult it is to recover.
The other path, one of forgiveness, works just the opposite, enabling you to grow even closer to God. The key is to come to Him quickly, in complete honesty about what you’ve done, and ask His forgiveness. You can’t surprise Him or shock Him. He knows everything already—even what you’ve been thinking. What is God’s response? “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). What a wonderful promise!
Take the initiative. Come each time you stumble, whether your failure was large or small. As you do, you will find that your confidence in His love and full provision for you grows each day.
Are you quick to seek God's forgiveness when you sin, or do you put it off until later? Talk to someone about finding forgiveness.
