Between The Falling and Getting Up Again
By: Kristen L. McNulty
If you enjoyed this Impact devotional, the author would love to hear from you. Email her at kristenmcnulty@hotmail.com. If you'd like to reprint this devotional, please email the author to ask for permission first. Thank you for your consideration.
Mistakes. We all make them. We do things we shouldn't. We make promises we don't keep. And when that feeling of failure sinks in, we find ourselves in a pretty low place. A place I like to call between the falling and getting up again.
Because after a fall, it's often hard to get up again. After all, we tried so hard. We wanted to do the right thing, but we didn't. So we remain fallen, beating ourselves up.
The Apostle Paul talked about this struggle very honestly when he said:
"I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong, it is sin living in me that does it.
I have discovered this principle of life- that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 7:19-24)
The struggle Paul talks about is the struggle we all face. We have the best of intentions, but sometimes when push comes to shove, we mess up. We do things that we swore we'd never do and as a result, we feel pretty badly.
After all, we think, there's only so many times God's going to forgive us right? And maybe that last time just pushed us over the edge of His grace?
Praise God that it isn't the case! God's forgiveness extends through and past the mistakes we make. God knows our hearts. He knows how hard we try to obey Him. And when we do mess up, He's standing there, arms open, ready and willing to forgive us! That's grace and that's what He offers to each one of us!
God's grace means that there doesn't have to be a place between the falling and the getting up again. God's grace means that when we fall, we just need to reach for His hand and He'll pull us back onto our feet.
God loves you, mistakes and all. And nothing you ever do, could separate you from that love. As Paul wrote a chapter later:
"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love." (Romans 8)
So stop beating yourself up. And instead reach for the outstretched hand that's loving waiting to pull you back onto your feet!
This devotional was aired as a part of the Making A Difference Christian Radio Show.