The Lord is the only One worthy of our full confidence because He is the only One that will never let us down. But just because someone fails, it doesn't mean they are all bad. Like so many failures in the Bible, there is still really aweome things about them and things we can learn from these imperfect people. Here's some examples. (I can't remember if I have posted this video before... sorry if I have. I just love it.) Not only will others fail us, we will fail ourself. I know this well, I fail myself a lot. Mentally, my brain doesnt function they way it did before I had kids and my memory fails me a lot. Emotionally, I fail myself in staying patient with my kids after a 2 hour fit about wanting to get the vitamins themself. Socially, I desire to be always thinking of others but I find myself thinking about what I have to get done. I fail myself physically, having one more cup of coffee than I should. And even spiritually, not doing the things the Lord prompts me to do. Seriously, how depressing if my goal in life was to not fail. One day I would wake up and realize, I will never be perfect, then what? Resigned to status as failure for life? That's what it would be unless we let something else define us. The Bible doesn't say, get it together and never fail. It says, "A righteous man falls 7 time and rises again." Prov. 24:16 And God is not meaning, pull yourself up by the bootstraps, but rather fix your eyes on Christ and know that Jesus died for that mistake too. After all, we are not the fruit producer, He is. He is the One making us the reflection of Him as we yield. Like smashed grapes, made into wine, healthy for the stomach, God is a redeeming God. Mistakes dont make us unusable. There is no place for shame- if you are a follower of Jesus, you are not defined by your sin, you are defined by His blood. You are a child of the King. Satan wants to accuse you and tell you that you are less than you are. But God says, you are holy, pure, blameless, chosen, adopted, deeply and radically loved unconditionally. There is no place for guilt- if you have submitted your life to Jesus, you have been declared innocent. Your guilt was transferred to Christ the moment you admit He was God, let Him forgive you and submit your life to Him. No matter how much satan or your old self wants to make you feel guilty, the reality is, you have been declared forgiven, innocent. There is no place for condemnation for those in Christ. Our sin doesnt surprize God. Jesus came through the line of Bathsheba. That is what God does with failure! He redeems at the expense of His own hurt. It's not about me or you or us getting it together but about putting more hope in Gods ability through us than in our perfection or mistakes. His redemption was at the expense of His own hurt. Took His own wrath to plow through bringing beauty in our sin-making Himself famous. The reality is, we, the imperfect ones get to point to a perfect God. Life can become so muddled sometimes. Everyone throwing out what thier expectations of you are, thier definition of success and failure. Added on top of our own insecurities and the worlds standards. Sometimes a realignment is in order. Perhaps this tool in the video will help you evaluate the activites in your life. Please forgive the video quality. I recorded it on my phone which meant I had to write everything backwards. Wierd huh! None but Jesus had these circles perfectly merged. So when you join me in failure of not having a perfectly aligned circles life, cling to Jesus, the Author and Perfector, and cling to the strength and wisdom He provides to take realignment steps. I'm joining these beautiful ladies:
A Holy Experience, Women Living Well, We Are That Family, Word-Filled Wednesdays, Good Morning Girls, The Diaper Diaries, Canvas Child and Some Girls Website
7 Comments
10/13/2011 01:15:38 am
This week I have been pulled down by depression and anxiety which have caused my thoughts to be clouded and feel like everything, all my responsibilities and desires, to swirl around in my head. Your post, which I came to from goodmorninggirls.org, and your video along with the encouragement from other friends have helped me today to refocus and slow down those swirling thoughts. I will use it as a springboard to refresh my mind and move forward! Thanks so much!
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"'A righteous man falls 7 time and rises again.' ... not meaning, pull yourself up by the bootstraps, but rather fix your eyes on Christ and know that Jesus died for that mistake too...He is the One making us the reflection of Him as we yield."
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