So I have heard a lot of people commenting in regard to falling short of God and I wanted to address that school of thought....
The world will always be ready to judge you and make a determination if you are a "REAL" Christian or not. Well God has a testimony for you in regards to each time you fall. Proverbs 24:16 says "a righteous man falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity (AMP). What that means is that God knows we will fall down, or sin in some way, but in knowing that he sent Jesus. Jesus took our place on the cross. He bared the weight of all our sins, so we could simply say....."I have sinned Lord!!! Please forgive me and show me how to be strengthened where I have fallen short!!"
God is so merciful and great that he had a plan long before we ever fell short. Jesus was that plan, and for that I am glad!! That scripture also means in order to be righteous we must fall. We are human, and sin is in us and around us, but our sincerely repenting of those sins allows God to strengthen us in those areas we are weak. As believers we must be willing to give it all to God.
What is "it all?" All of our sinful nature, all of our talents, all of our hurt, all of our pain, all of our concern, all of the areas in our life that stress reigns supreme, etc. etc. etc. Once you have the Holy Spirit inside of you God is able to cleans those areas in your life that aren't like him. We all have shadows of darkness in our lives, but God is the light that shines on those shadows allowing his righteousness to penetrate our hearts.
Someone once told me that we go through things and fall short so that our life can glorify God. I believe that whole heartily. My life was full of hurt. I had two daughter without being married, and am I left to raise them alone. I have been talked about, judged based on my mistakes, and written off by individuals I thought cared about me the most. But despite my failures, God never left me!! His arms were opened, and he whole heartily welcomed me into his kingdom. God has the same love for you as well....
If you have made a mistake, and fell short of his glory he is saying "It's OK!! I love you. I have the power to make you white as snow. Just let me into your heart, your life, and your mind." Psalms 56:13 says "For you have delivered my life from death, yes, and my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life and of the living" (AMP). This means by accepting God as your personal Savior you have been delivered from an eternal death. God will also keep you from falling in areas you give to him. Once again you have to be willing to give those issues over to him. Allow God to come into your life, blot out your failures, and use those experiences to testify of his goodness.
If I had never fallen I wouldn't know how good God is, and be able to passionately speak of the changes he has made in my life. This can be your testimony as well. Don't allow anyone to bring you down or make you feel less of a Christian because you made a mistake!! God plan for our mistakes.....if he didn't he would have never sent us Jesus!! A "REAL" Christian will make mistakes, they will grow, they will knock off the dead weight of pain, hurt, and disappointment, and they will become stronger in areas they were once weak.
You must fight the good fight of faith. This fight means you keep persevering toward Christ, no matter if you stumble. Our Christian journey is a LONG walk. Not run but WALK. Think about a time you had to walk a long distance, maybe a hike, amusement park, or marathon. Surely you can recall tripping on uneven terrain, feeling tired in your body, or even wanting to stop to rest.
WELL.....that is the same for your walk with God. We trip and stumble when we have rough uneven terrains in our day to day life. Those terrains can be finances, unexpected pregnancies, drugs, alcohol, etc. But despite that terrain we keep walking. If we should fall God has the ointment to heal any of our bruises and pain. All we have to do is ask him for it, and once applied any scares will disappear those areas of bruising will be like new. We feel tired in our walk as a result of fighting the enemy.We can combat that fatigue with praise. Psalms 51:10 says "Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me (NKJV)." With our praise God can renew our spirit and give us the energy and steadfast, firm and unwavering, spirit to keep moving despite our moments of being weary. We will have times when we have no energy and feel we can not walk on but God...Let me say that again BUT GOD!!! He will renew our spirits and he will do this when we seek out his Word, going before him in our personal prayer time, and combating the devil with the Word of God. Before you know it you will be able to look back at the hills and valleys you have climbed, and see just how far you have come in the Lord. God can then allow you to help someone through their hills and valleys with the promise that you have already been through it, and you are still standing. Allow God to use your falls and stumbles to glorify him in your life and the life of others.
God Bless,
Kiva Thompkins
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