Failure and Redemption – Falling Forward
Proverbs 24:16
“for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again”
The rut was on in Minnesota. Glancing over my shoulder to scan the vast cornfield behind the meager fencerow blind I was trying to conceal myself in, I was quite surprised to see a whitetail buck heading my way about 200 yards out and closing fast. Crouching behind the few wisps of cover I had to work with I cradled my shotgun, assessed where the buck was likely to cross when he got closer, and thought to myself “this is almost too easy” (famous last words!). A few short moments later, with 3 spent shotgun shells laying on the ground (and no buck), I knew I had muffed one of the easiest deer hunting opportunities I had been presented with in a long time. I was instantly reduced to amateur status, even with decades of successful deer hunting under my belt. What could possibly have gone wrong? Turns out quite a few things!
Well, I had plenty of remaining hunting hours to beat myself up over this unimpressive shooting demonstration. Upon reflection I had committed numerous “sins” of improper firearm shooting principles. These included: (1) Rushing my shot, (2) not squeezing the trigger, but rather jerking it like you would if you stuck your finger in a mouse trap (3) not following through with the sight picture of my scope, (4) “peeking” over the scope immediately after the shot likely causing me to shoot low. These mistakes weren’t reserved only for the first shot. I believe I ran through them all again with the second and third shots! Holy cow – what a basket case……
I began to wonder what God might be communicating to me about all this and found some helpful reminders in scripture about pride and haste:
Proverbs 16:18 warns us that “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall”.
Proverbs 21:5 instructs that “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty”. That last part about haste certainly hit home – no venison!
Ultimately God pointed me to Proverbs 24:16 “for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again”. In this scripture we see God’s redemptive heart, His boundless mercy and His endless grace especially when we stumble.
Even after we become born again believers in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, God understands we are caught in the sinful state of the fallen world this side of heaven. When we receive Christ into our heart, we begin our sanctification journey……….we are becoming more Christ-like! But sanctification doesn’t mean mistake-free. Our human nature is simply wrought with the many sin landmines of this world.
But God helps us through this. As true believers in Christ, the Holy Spirit lives within us. Holy Spirit is the “helper” Jesus spoke of in John 14:16-17: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever”.
As we journey forward, we will sometimes stumble and fall. But God hears our cry of repentance and forgives us. He helps us learn from our mistakes and gives us power to overcome our sin, as seen in Romans 6:14: “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”
What a fellowship that is! What a burden off our backs! God will forgive us and help us learn from our mistakes. That makes our journey all the sweeter, knowing with confidence Jesus is our risen Savior and our salvation is secure because of Him!
Four days following my Minnesota shooting seminar I was hunting out of an ancient white oak tree in northeastern WI. All Glory to God who blessed me twice that evening, first with a large doe and an hour later with a beautiful nine-point buck. Stumbling badly in Minnesota the week before made the humbling thrill of redemption just that much sweeter that night.
What a wonderful reminder of the love that awaits us from our heavenly Father on our sanctification journey, as we fall forward into the arms of our incredible Savior, Jesus Christ!
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