Starting Over
“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. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).
Starting Over
The Morning After
Bible Reading: Matthew 26:33-35, 74-75
Yesterday we may have sworn there was no way we were going to fall again. Things were going well. But what happened? Now we’re sitting here, aching inside, and cursing ourselves. Maybe we allowed ourselves to be lured into a risky situation. We convinced ourselves there was good reason—that it would be all right. Maybe we just felt like we could handle it—but we couldn’t—or at least we didn’t. And now we’re miserable!
Peter had his own “morning after” experience. He had sworn to Jesus, “‘Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.’ Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.’ ‘No!’ Peter insisted. ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!’” (Matthew 26:33-35). Jesus had been right, as always! Jesus was betrayed, arrested, tried, and beaten. It was more than Peter could bear; but he couldn’t walk away. So he followed. He was suspected of being a collaborator. Each time he lied to protect himself. The third time, “Peter swore, ‘A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!’ And immediately the rooster crowed. Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: ‘Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.’ And he went away, weeping bitterly” (Matthew 26:74-75).
Jesus knew Peter was going to fall in advance; and his love didn’t skip a beat! God doesn’t hate us on the morning after. He loves us every bit as much today as he did before we fell.
God’s love for us never changes, even when we’ve failed.
Starting Over
Not Disqualified
Bible Reading: Matthew 4:18-20
We may accept God’s forgiveness, but feel that our fall has disqualified us from serving God or aspiring to great things. We may conclude that we’re only fit for the kind of position in life we had before we began to hope and work for something better.
The apostle Peter started out as a fisherman named Simon. That was all he was qualified for, at least before Jesus came along. “One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, ‘Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!’ And they left their nets at once and followed him” (Matthew 4:18-20). For the next three years Jesus trained him to “fish for souls,” and during that time Peter witnessed many miracles. But then he blew it! In the end he denied Jesus. He went through three days of utter hell, and then the greatest miracle of all happened. Jesus was alive again! But Peter still thought of himself as disqualified. He started up his fishing business again. That’s where Jesus found him, back in his old life. It was on that same shore that Jesus reaffirmed his call. Again he said to Peter, “Follow me” (John 21:19).
We may consider ourselves disqualified after a fall, but God doesn’t. The apostle Paul said, “For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn” (Romans 11:29). Just because we’ve blown it doesn’t mean that we should give up and go back to our old lives. God still has a wonderful future for us.
We only really fail when we refuse to get up and start again.
Starting Over
God Still Loves Us
Bible Reading: Romans 8:38-39
We may feel like God hates us. We may hate ourselves right now. We wonder how God’s love can continue when we’ve disappointed him so. It’s a wonder that God doesn’t just throw us away! It’s a wonder that he keeps us at all!
This may be how we feel, but it isn’t true! The apostle Paul once wrote, “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. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). King David prayed, “O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. . . . You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!” (Psalm 139:1, 4-7).
Once we’ve accepted Christ’s death as payment for our sins, there’s absolutely nothing we can do to escape the love of God! God knows everything we’ve done—every thought, word, and deed. In fact, he knew things would happen as they did before they ever happened. He is determined to bless us, to love us, and to keep us. He’ll never throw us away!
There is absolutely nothing we can do to make God love us any less.
Starting Over
Wanting to Die
Bible Reading: 1 Kings 19:3-7
When we fall, we may wish we could just die. We may feel like the struggle is just too much for us. We’ve tried but failed again; now we’re exhausted! When we feel this way we may withdraw from those who could help us. Our shame over the failure makes us want to hide. We feel like the journey is over. The last thing we want to do is start back on the steps of recovery.
Elijah, the great prophet, had similar feelings. Almost immediately after winning one of his greatest victories for God, he became overwhelmed by a threat from wicked Queen Jezebel. “Elijah . . . fled for his life. . . . He went on alone into the wilderness . . . and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, LORD,’ he said. ‘Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.’ Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, ‘Get up and eat!’ He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the LORD came again and touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you’” (1 Kings 19:3-7).
After this dark moment, Elijah lived to experience many more great victories. We will too! We probably are exhausted. Right now we need to give ourselves some rest and nourishment. We need someone by our side who will encourage us to get up and get going again. There’s still a long journey ahead of us.
When we want to quit we need to look for loving people who will encourage and nourish us.
Starting Over
No Condemnation
Bible Reading: Romans 7:15–8:1
We may be punishing ourselves. We certainly feel like we deserve it! We don’t just feel guilty; we feel like this last fall proves that we’re rotten to the core. Our feelings of self-condemnation may go beyond guilt for the wrong behavior, convincing us of our worthlessness. It seems futile to keep trying.
The apostle Paul talked about how frustrating it can be to fall back into the very things we hate (see Romans 7). But then he concludes, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death” (Romans 8:1-2).
Our feelings of condemnation come from ourselves and Satan, not from God. The Bible calls Satan “the accuser.” Looking to a future day, it says, “It has come at last—salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth—the one who accuses them before our God day and night” (Revelation 12:10).
God will convict us of the wrong of our behavior, so we can confess it and receive cleansing forgiveness. Remember, “If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (1 John 1:9). Let’s not give in to the condemnation. We’re not hopeless and worthless! We just fell. God wants to dust us off and set us back on the path to a better life.
God never condemns those who look to him for forgiveness, even after the greatest of failures.