We All Fall Short
How do you walk through your journey with Christ without being fearful of people judging you when you mess up?
I wish I truly knew how to navigate this process. It’s something that has been on my mind for quite a while. What happens when you’ve been so strong in your walk and it seems like when you fall the hardest is when everyone’s watching?
What happens when you have people ask you questions like, “how could you be in this situation, but you’re supposed to be a Christian?”
I’ve realized that situations like this can easily make someone insecure and even doubtful of themselves. I guess this piece is to those who crawl into a hole of shame when they mess up and to those who sit on the sidelines with all the thoughts and questions.
Speaking as an individual who is very passionate about my love for God and ministry, I would just like to say that I am not always perfect. I have my battles; I have my hardships and YES, I sin. I would not be human if I didn’t. If I were made to be perfect, then there would be no point of having God’s gifted grace and mercy and I would ultimately not need God because I would have it all together. A lot of times people have this misconception of becoming unflawed because you’re constantly after God’s heart, but the reality is that the battle intensifies.
Three things to know for those on the outside:
1. Each person is walking through their personal battles.
This is just simply a reminder that we are all human and none of us are beyond falling short of God’s grace. At different seasons we all have our time of fighting our worst struggles.
2. What you see is all you know.
This means exactly what it says. You are simply looking in from the outside; depth and context are unknown and as much as you think you know what’s going on, God is the only one outside of that person who truly knows.
3. It is not your place to judge.
Let’s dive into text for this one. Romans 2:1 says “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”
This verse reminds me of how they always say take the plank out of your own eye before trying to remove one from someone else’s eye. This means that before judging take a step back and dwell on where your judgement is coming from, is it out of condemnation or love and accountability?
Those are two very different approaches. It’s one thing to call someone out in love and concern but a completely different thing to do it in a scornful manner.
Three things to know for those who fall short:
1. God’s grace is enough for you but that doesn’t mean be comfortable.
2 Corinthians 12:9 says “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
To truly understand this verse I would highly recommend reading from the previous verses and It begins with Paul expressing how unpleased he was with his imperfections and mistakes and this verse was Gods response to him.
One of my favorites blogs explained this verse perfectly, specifically what it means for God’s “power to be made perfect in weakness” and this is what they had to say:
“Now, Paul could boast about his weakness because there is a higher power that can cover that weakness and make it powerful. We are not perfect. We are bound to make mistakes, but with the power of God through Christ, we will be made perfect. This is something we can boast of. That is, boasting about the power of God through Christ.
The lesson from this is that humility will let God step in and make our weakness our strength through His power.”
Now when I say don’t be comfortable, I simply mean that it is good to acknowledge that God’s grace is there for us but that doesn’t mean take advantage of it and remain in a repetitive cycle of your mistakes. At a point in time a mistake turns into an active decision.
2. Don’t be hard on yourself.
Don’t beat yourself up because WE ALL MESS UP. Take it easy, talk to God and don’t dwell so hard on how you wish you never messed up.
3. Accept God’s forgiveness and move forward with better knowledge.
Lastly, God has already forgiven you but until you accept that forgiveness you’ll circle back into that ball of shame.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9
Pour out all your hurts and disappointment at the feet of Jesus and there he will mend all that is broken. With every shortcoming there is a lesson to be taken from it and there is growth that will be produced. All we can do is strive to be better versions of ourselves every single day. As much as whoever reads this needed it, just know I too needed it just as much.
Much love to you all.
