For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.

Proverbs 24:16

Recommended Reading

Psalm 51

The Bible is filled with heroes, but only one man was perfect—the Lord Jesus. All the other saints in the biblical record made mistakes, took detours, lost their way, faltered, failed, wandered, and sinned. Abraham lied about Sarah. Noah got drunk. Moses lost his temper. Naomi traveled to Moab. David created scandals. Elijah fell into depression. Jonah ran away. Peter denied Christ. James and John squabbled about who was greatest. Even Paul admitted, “For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do” (Romans 7:15).

We mustn’t tolerate spiritual failure in our lives. We shouldn’t sin so that grace may abound (see Romans 6:1). But on the other hand, when we mess up, we shouldn’t give up. Even when we wander, God is there. We have a merciful God. He knows how to draw us back, and He helps us to repent and grow from the experience. The Bible says, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).

If you’ve fallen down, let Jesus help you back up, for He alone is perfect.

There is no better means of progress in the spiritual life than to be continually beginning afresh….

Francis de Sales

Read-Thru-the-Bible

2 Samuel 23 – 24

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