Don’t Give Up, Get Up!

CRASH! You failed. Again. You are sad and mad at the same time, not to mention humiliated. We have all experienced failure: making a low grade on an assignment, forgetting to complete a promised task, giving in to temptation to sin, etc. Usually, we can handle the minor failures. Though embarrassed, we carry on. But what about when we have a sinful failure? The painful knowledge of our actions seems to be more than we can bear. Our humiliation is crushing. Conviction of our sin against God is stabbing. What can we do in times of failure? Let’s look at a few people in the Bible who failed.Jonah disobeyed God’s instructions to go to Nineveh. So God sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah. What did Jonah do when he found himself trapped in the slimy belly of a fish? He repented, gave thanks to God, and went straight to Nineveh as soon as he was expelled from the fish. (Then Jonah sinned again, and God called him to repent again, but that’s another story.)David sinned deliberately and grievously. What did David do when the prophet Nathan delivered a convicting parable and exposed David’s sin? David repented, gave praise to God, and rose from his sorrow to tell others of God’s mercy.Peter denied that he knew Jesus. What did Peter do when the eyes of Jesus zeroed in on him at the crowing of the rooster? Peter wept tears of repentance. After Jesus died and rose from the dead, He reinstated Peter. And then Peter boldly spoke of his love for his Savior.Even when these people failed completely, God did not give up on them. And because of His love, they didn’t give up—they got up! God raised them up from the despair and humiliation of failure. Because Jesus took all our sins upon Himself when He died on the cross and rose again, we can be forgiven. If we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we do not have to wallow in sadness or anger at ourselves. We can look to God, receive His forgiveness, and return to the path of righteousness.Don’t give up! Repent, rise, and joyfully return to serving God and others! • Rebecca Moore• When we realize we have sinned, Jesus invites us to repent—which means turning toward God and away from our sin (anything we do or think that goes against God). He is eager to forgive us and reassure us of His love. Is there any sin you would like to repent from now?• If you want to dig deeper, read Jonah 1:1–3:3; 2 Samuel 11–12; Luke 22:31–34, 54-62; John 21:15-19; Acts 2:14-41.I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Psalm 32:5b (NLT)

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Ps.40.2-Ps.40.3|Prov.24.16