Getting Back Up Again & UK Fellowship Friday

Have you ever decided to do something in your life to obey or glorify God, and then failed miserably and got discouraged?

I used to do that a lot – fail, and then feel guilty and depressed. And the worst thing was that those feelings would keep me down. I would feel like I didn’t want to try again in case I repeated my failure. I would feel embarrassed and small at how stupid I was.

Then one day I read a verse in Proverbs, and it was a moment that changed my whole outlook on life!

I realised that God knows that we fall, and He also knows that we will rise again. We should expect to fall in this life, and He’s not up there condemning us. He knows it’s just part of our growth, like when babies start learning to walk. The important thing is that we get back up again!

But how do we rise again?
 
Ask God for forgiveness

If we have sinned, then the way that God has given us to get back up again is coming to the cross in repentance. There we find God’s mercy and grace for us, and we can know that we are forgiven, and can have peace.

I love this song, which always reminds me of God’s mercy and grace at the cross:

Start again

We also have to remember to start again! We are often afraid to risk failing, but God is with us and is on our side, and has immeasurable mercy and grace for us. That is why I love that verse so much. It doesn’t just say ‘A righteous man may fall and rise again.’ But it says ‘A righteous man may fall seven times and rise again.’!

Go to God for help

God loves to help us when we ask, and He will strengthen us. Sometimes we fall into trials, or fall short of what we were hoping to accomplish. God has promised a way of escape, and if we pray He will guide us and help us to start again.

Use practical means

Sometimes as Christians we pray and that’s it. But the Bible also calls for diligence, and if we have already failed at something it makes sense practically to also look for what we can do differently. Maybe there are things we can do that will help, or friends that will give us accountability, or temptations to put far away so that we are less likely to fall.

The wonderful thing about understanding all this is that it then won’t bother us so much if we are convicted about something that we are doing wrong, or if we fail yet again in obeying God, or even just fail in our own goals.

We just need to remember that God has grace for us and knows that we fail, and all that we need to do is come to him and repent, and He will extend His mercy and forgiveness and help us rise again and get right back on our feet.

Linking up to Brag on God Friday

UK Fellowship Friday Blog Hop

I would love you to link up if you have recently written a post about your faith that might encourage other Christians – for example a testimony, reflection or challenge. The only other requirement is that you live in the UK. If you could link to the specific post you’ve written, then it will help people to find it.

If you join below, please either link to this post in a text-link on your blog, or get the code at the bottom of the link up, so your readers can find the other blogs in the blog hop.