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For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises up again; But the wicked are overthrown by calamity. Proverbs 24:16 WEB

I once adopted a little dog that no one wanted and she had 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. 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 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.

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 your great grandchildren. We only have to ask and we are accepted.

Failure is an event, and 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 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.

Prayer: Father, I thank You for Your forgiveness today. 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.