For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises up again; But the wicked are overthrown by calamity. Proverbs 24:16 WEBI once adopted a little dog that no one wanted, and she had apparently been abused in the past. Whenever she did something that she thought was wrong, she would tuck her tail between her legs, walk away slowly, and hide behind the couch. If she even heard a loud voice on the television, she assumed that it was her fault, and that I was mad at her. No amount of coaxing would stop her or bring her back out. Because of her past, she wrongfully assumed that all communication aimed at her was negative.
Eventually she would peek around the corner with those sad little eyes, so hurt that she had disappointed me. I would catch her peeking out, give her a warm smile, and she would bolt into my lap and try to lick me like I was a tall, delicious, lollipop. She was so overjoyed that she was accepted. Then she would claw her way under my shirt, curl up and go to sleep, happy and content.
So many times when we fall, we just want to withdraw from everyone and everything. We hide, scared to face what may be coming, fearing punishment. Our past treatment causes us to only see more of the same abuse, and we can have a hard time trusting even God. We begin to feel like 'They all hate me.'
Our God is not mean, and Jesus has already paid for every sin that you have committed, and every sin that you are going to commit in the future. He even paid for the sins of your great grandparents, and those of your great grandchildren. We only have to ask, and we are accepted.
Failure is an event, not a person. It is a blip on a timeline, and not your life. There is nothing to hide from. Come out from behind the couch and you will find that you are accepted. You can happily be snuggling in your Father's arms again.
When you fall, get up, keep going, keep moving forward. Jesus is not mad at you and He will welcome you right back into His loving arms with no condemnation at all. It is we that hide, just as Adam hid from God in the garden. It is up to us to come back out. God will call to us, but He won't force us to come out of our hiding place.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your forgiveness today. Please forgive me of my past. This is a new day and I am turning over a new leaf. Today is the first day of the rest of my life, and I will live it for You, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.Note: "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chron 7:14). If you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page:
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Amen!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your forgiveness today. Please forgive me of my past. This is a new day and I am turning over a new leaf. Today is the first day of the rest of my life, and I will live it for You, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen ~ Thank you
Amen! I thank God every day for His loving Kindness!
Amen !praise God for his love
Amen
Truth Amen ❤
Amen, that is a good story Pastor Dion :)
Amen,let our lives be for you .
Amen!
Thank You Lord that Your mercies are new every morning and that i no longer have to hide. Thank You for Your forgiveness and thank You for the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made so that I might be made righteous! Amen!
Dear Father thank You for Your loving even though I'm a constant sinner. I love You and always trust in You, forgive my sins and lead me to where You want me to be. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Thank you Pastor for always being here for us.
Thank you for this Pastor Dion. It really hits home for me, not only because I've welcomed many rescue animals into my family,but also because I struggle with seeing myself and my life as a failure.
Just a note about the scruffy happy lil guy in my profile pic. He had been abused and abandoned before I had him. He was year old, and being a fiesty terrier, he would growl to protect himself when he got scared and thought he was going to be hurt again. With love and positive training, it took time, but he became a happy lil dog who loved hiking and going to agilty and obedience classes with me. He was happy to greet people on walks who wanted to pet him because he looked liked Toto or Benji. lol It took years for him to realize he was safe and to trust other people though. He was a wonderful compaion for 18 years with me before he crossed the rainbow bridge a little over a year ago. I know God brought him to me for a reason, because if he had ended up at the shelter he would have been put down for growling and snapping. God knew we needed each other.
Praying for you, sis <3! (((HUGS)))
Thank you so much sis! <3 ((((hugs))
Thank you for your everlasting love. Amen.
Amen!!
Amen Lord
THE FIRST TIME I CAUGHT MY SELF IN A SIN , I WAS ONLY 9 YEARS OLD, WE LIVED ON TOP OF A MOUNTAIN,I COULD SEE THE SUN ALL AROUND ME, BUT THAT DAY, I COULD DO NOTHING BUT CRY I HAD EATEN MY SISTERS PIECE OF BIRTHDAY CAKE, AND I FELT SO BAD ,I COULDN'T STAND MY SELF, I WENT OUT SIDE , SET IN THE GRASS AND CRYED MY EYES OUT, ASK GOD TO FORGIVE ME ,THEN I ASK IF MY SISTER WOULD FORGIVE IF I TELL HER, MY ANSWER WAS YES ,MY SISTER WAS RIGHT BEHIND ME, SHE HAD COME OUT TO SEE WHY I WAS CRYING BUT PRAISE THE LORD SHE FORGAVE ME.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your forgiveness today. Please forgive me of my past. This is a new day and I am turning over a new leaf. Today is the first day of the rest of my life, and I will live it for You, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen