Lesson Learned

UGH!!! Don’t you hate it when you’ve worked so hard on a project, you’re 90% finished, and you accidentally click “Don’t Save”! I was almost finished with my Seasonal, Bi-Annual, and Annual checklists, about to send it to Mom to edit, when I clicked on the wrong button!! And to top it all off, I had already thrown away my notes. Now, I have to start all over again. GRRRR!

Well, such is life. Mistakes happen. Whether it is forgetting to save the project or forgetting to check on supper because I get caught up in a book or movie, something will go wrong. Grant it, a lot of those mistakes are because I am distracted and something unintentional happens. And some of those mistakes happen because I am intent on doing something in my own power or knowledge. But it is in the moment immediately after that mishap that makes or breaks my day, my week, or even my life.

Sure, it would be so easy to get mad or upset, turn the computer off and turn in for the night. I could sulk and mope, or I can take a quick break, re-gather my thoughts, and move on. Either way, the choice is mine. No one else can make it for me. No matter how much they persuade me, ultimately it is up to me to do something or nothing about the situation.

Have you ever notice how many people made mistakes in the Bible? Have you also noticed that most of those people, if they chose to repent from their mistakes, were forgiven? Many of them also went on to do great things that most probably would not have happened if they hadn’t made the mistake, or mistakes, in the first place.

Eve made the mistake of listening to the serpent in the garden instead of God.

Adam made the mistake of listening to his wife instead of God.

Cain made the mistake of letting jealousy take over him to the point he killed his own brother.

And all of these examples are in the first four chapters of the Bible.

Do you know what else is recorded along with the accounts of the mistakes? God’s correction, grace, and mercy. God did not leave Adam and Eve, nor did He strike them down for their disobedience. They had consequences for their actions (even the serpent), life was going to be difficult, but God also blessed them despite themselves. He made them tunics of animal skins, set then in a new place to live with guidelines as to what they should do (Genesis 3:23), and still communed with them. And when their son, Cain, kills his brother, Abel, God showed his mercy again by allowing Cain to live and marked him for protection (Genesis 4:15).

Now, I have never committed a crime; definitely not one at the level of Cain. I have, however, committed an abundance of mistakes, taken plenty of missteps, and well, had my fair share of mishaps. And when I accept that I am doing something wrong, no matter the brevity or severity, and repent, God is just to forgive and send His mercies and grace to cover me.

How do I know? It’s in His Word. Lamentations 3:22-23 “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” (KJV)

I am so glad I do not have to be perfect to earn God’s grace and favor; so relieved I do not have to work for salvation. I could not in any way live up to that kind of pressure. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (KJV)

Once I accepted Christ as my Savior, I repented of my sins and became cleanse in His blood; but I will still make mistakes. I also know that my mistakes can be turned to good; publicly or privately.. Romans 8:28 (KJV) “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Still, what about those not-so-unintentional mistakes? If God will work all things for the good of them that love Him, does it matter whether or not I sin or make mistakes to cover up something I think is not good. Like consciously making the decision to not finish a project at work because I am tired and weary? Or worse, lie to get out of doing something? Let’s look at Romans 6:1-2: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”

In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul explains that, although we are in the flesh, we do not war against the flesh. In order to be able to stand in the spiritual warfare that is happening all around us, we are called to be “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (Verse 5, KJV)

I could very easily get into the Armor of God and strategic spiritual warfare right now, but I won’t. I may save it for another post. Right now, all I want to do is encourage you, my dear friend, that your mistakes are not the end of the world, nor the end of your testimony. As the t-shirt logo states, “The Struggle is Real” which can be used both in all seriousness or in jest when there is a lot of “lame complaining”. (I had to look that one up.) In fact, if I hadn’t made the mistake of clicking “Don’t Save” I would not have written this post in the first place. So, the take-away for today: The struggle is real, but so is the grace and mercy of God! Repent, regroup, and restart. Something good will come of it all.