I blew it!
I messed up. Oh, it was not a big thing, but enough to make me feel like a failure. In life. In my marriage. In my faith.
I failed to have a servant heart.
I failed to love my husband well and serve him.
I was prideful and self-serving.
I thought speaking my mind on a matter would make me feel better…would make right something that I perceived as a wrong toward me. It did not. And I felt terrible about it afterward.
Pride! Selfishness!
I am never more like Satan than when I allow pride to creep in and convince me that I am all that and a bag of chips; when I allow selfishness to engulf me.
Stumbles.
We all blow it from time to time.
We all mess up. It may not be a big thing, but then again…it might. In life. In our relationships. In our faith.
Stumbles.
You want to hear some good news, friend?
God is not surprised at our stumbles. Nor is He disgusted by them. When you and I have a heart that longs to please God; when we have a will and a desire to walk in His way, God is pleased even with our stumbles.
So, hear this friend….deep into the recesses of your heart…hear this:
You are not defined by your stumbles.
You are NOT DEFINED by your stumbles, any more than a 1-year-old baby is defined by its stumbling efforts to learn to walk. You may feel that your stumbles define you, but that is a lie from Satan. Do not believe it.
If you are a blood-bought follower of Jesus Christ, you are His precious treasure, His beautiful one, and His beloved. You are not your stumbles.
Would you take a moment, wherever you are, to repeat aloud with me:
I AM NOT DEFINED BY MY STUMBLES.
I AM DEFINED BY WHO I AM IN JESUS CHRIST!
Say it again:
I AM NOT DEFINED BY MY STUMBLES.
I AM DEFINED BY WHO I AM IN JESUS CHRIST!
Say it until you believe it. If you have to go outside and shout it over and over until the neighbors think you have lost your ever-lovin’ mind, then go shout.
If the will to walk is there, God is pleased even with our stumbles. Believe it!
If you needed to hear this today, I would love hear from you so I can pray for you. Leave me a comment or email me at [email protected].
Linking up this week with Jennifer Lee for #TellHisStory.
