After Your Fall

It had been that kind of a morning. Nothing major; just the typical little annoyances and mundane trials that can sometimes deflate and discourage us. Things like children's messy bedrooms and two of those unnamed children's failure to put loads of clothes away despite being asked to do so pointedly and repeatedly days ago. Fuming mama still managed to soldier through a devotion to the children--in between fussing at them. Boy, I bet that was one meaningful devotion for each of them! But I digress. A pitiful arthritic old dog that couldn't get down the back stairs (and his mama's attendant worry). An overwhelmingly and impossibly long to-do list. A creaky old back. An unnamed child taking waaaaaay too long to get ready for school... and rushing to school like a maniac... and forgetting to give said child medicine so frantic dash back home. And then, when said child jumps back into car for return lunatic trip to school, the brand-new-from-Target frog piggy bank that was a gift for his teacher's birthday (long story--but she is such a sweetheart and it is her birthday and said child desperately wanted to get it for her since she adores frogs) falls out the door and shatters all over the street. Child devastated. Mama frustrated. Very frustrated.

Okay, so I know it all sounds incredibly petty, but isn't it often such ordinary annoyances that snatch our joy and steal our perspective? Sure, I had a wonderful quiet time with the Lord early this morning, but by the time Kermit fell onto the hard cement of our street, I had somehow forgotten all about it, as my heart felt just about as ungrateful and unyielding as that pavement.

But here's the thing, the Lord in His mercy and grace enabled me right in that moment of the shattering froggy--well, maybe a second or two right after that moment--to put it in perspective. Piggy banks can be replaced, messy rooms can be cleaned, to-do lists will somehow, someway be checked off; but loving my 10 year old, demonstrating grace, living with joy and gratitude--priceless and irreplaceable.

This little moment: no big deal, you say? O, but you are so wrong, for it's in all those seemingly inconsequential moments of life where we have the choice of grumpiness or gratitude, of worry or worship, of frustration or forgiveness, of fear or faith, of falling in failure or rising in victory, that true persevering faith and hope and character is built.

You know, we will all fall. I should know--I'm a professional. How easily I can forget Whose I am and Who is in control and Who lives within me (in case you don't know--the Lord Jesus, praise His Name!). How quickly I succumb to pride or selfishness or worry or plain old discouragement; blessed beyond all measure and reason, and, yet, still sometimes, somehow dissatisfied or ungrateful. Yep, I fall and fall and fall again and again.

But the question isn't whether we will fall. Or how we fall. Or even why we fall. The key question is: what will we do after our falls? Will we go to the Savior, the One who died for our sins and failures and falls, and ask for His forgiveness, seeking His grace? Because if we go to Him, in repentance, He will always forgive and then enable us to rise and rise and rise again.

We can't rise. But He can, through us. "For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again; but the wicked are brought down by calamity." Prov. 24:1

"The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when He delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand." Ps. 37:23-24

"Rejoice not over me, my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me." Micah 7:8 I love that--notice it's not "if I fall" but "when I fall." We're human; we falter. We're sinful; we fall. But if the Lord Jesus is our Savior, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we "shall rise," not "if" but "shall!"

I've heard it said, the definition of a saint is "Falling down and getting up. Falling down and getting up. Falling down and getting up--all the way to heaven." That just about sums it up, doesn't it?! As Alan Redpath once shared, "Do you know what God expects of you?" Faithfulness, love, obedience, you might be thinking? Nope. "All God ever expects of you is failure." Well, you're exclaiming, I can do that! I can meet God's expectations 110%! But Redpath continued, "All God ever expects of you is failure... but He's given you His Holy Spirit that you need never fail."

Fall, sure. Maybe even fall repeatedly. But ultimate failure, never--because as long as we keep rising after our falls, we will never ever be failures. And you know how I know? Because one terrible, wonderful Friday the God of the universe gave His life on a rough wooden cross so our falls need never be final. And then that glorious Sunday, He rose from the dead so that we too can rise and rise and rise from our falls. It's called salvation. And grace. And it is glorious and wonderful and awesome and incredible... and, well, words simply fail.

So the next time you fall--and it may be all too soon--remember the Savior who died and rose again so that you can rise after every fall. You have the choice. Don't stay there in the dust. Don't give up or give in to despair. It's not the fall that matters. It's what you do after the fall that makes all the difference. To our Savior who died and rose from the dead--for us--be all the glory.

p.s. If you need a little inspiration (or even just a little reminder), I suggest you look at the brief video of Heather Dorniden running and falling and rising in the Big 10 Championships. I've included the link below. Mighty good stuff! (and she is a believer!)

Emily Fountain shared a link.

Girl Takes a Terrible Fall During a Race - But Wait Til You See What Happens Next!

www.godvine.com

After training for this event for months and months, Heather Dorniden faced the unexpected when another racer cut her off - she fell very hard. But when you see what happens next, you'll be amazed and inspired. Check this out!