A while ago while talking with my husband about the word of God, we discussed the kings in the old testament and how many of them sinned against God. When we read on these kings, we learned that they worshiped false Gods and did not establish Gods rule in the land. As many of them are introduced to us in the book of kings, the introduction is followed by…’and he sinned against the Lord’. Some even say, ‘as his father did’. It’s a long history of kings that sinned against God. God in some of these books as well and some of the latter ones of the prophets, He seemed to constantly send in His people (prophets) to give the kings a message of repentance. There was usually, as God is free will, a choice of repentance or destruction. For example in the book of the prophets, the prophets were sent to give some kings word. We know many stories about Jonah, but he was one who God sent to tell the king of Nineveh to repent, or destruction would come upon Him.
God essentially gave them an out for their sins and remembered them no more, because they repented and rose from their wicked ways. As a matter of fact, later in the book of Matthew, he tells us that these people will be at judgement and how great it was for them that they did repent of their sins and turn their heart to him.
The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation to condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. Matthew 12:41
I love the last part of this scripture where it says that something greater is here. Listen, we make our own choices and decide the kind of life we want to live. As we walk through this life, we put forth the kind of person we want to be. There are some that choose to walk righteously before the Lord, and of course some do not. This path of walking righteously is not always easy. There are many times where we may stumble or fall short of our intent. The good news with that is that God knows that we are not going to always get it right. He knows that we are going to stumble time and time again because of the world we live in. But Jesus, Jesus is our good news, our something greater. He is our out.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus, Romans 3:23-24
If we can be honest with ourselves, we ALL sin. From the pulpit to the streets, we all fall short. Well what’s the difference between a righteous person and a sinner? The different is the salvation that comes when you enter into true relationship with Jesus Christ. When you walk with Christ, though you may sin, God has a way of picking you back up and putting you back into position. When you have been exposed and believe who Jesus is and what He can do for you, He will pick you up and put you back of track.
for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes. Proverbs 24:16
Having that salvation is like a preparation or skill for an expected journey ahead. That salvation brings about conviction and a rise back to righteousness through repentance. So when you fall, God has done a work in you that compels you to rise back to your place of righteousness.
Without the salvation of the Lord in your life, when you stumble, you tend to stay stuck in that position. You tend to not be able to find the strength or guidance needed to dig yourself out of the pit. Things can come up against us often. There is no scripture in the book that says the righteous will never experience any trouble. Instead there are many that teach us that the only difference between the troubles that we face, is who we look to, to get us through.
God says, “I will save those who love men and will protect those who acknowledge me as Lord. When they call me, I will answer them; when they are in trouble, I will be with them. Psalm 91:14-16
If I can just encourage you for a moment, let me just say, DON’T TRIP or AGONIZE over your falls. God is there to catch you if you let Him. He is there to make sure that you don’t stay down, but rather that you rise again, strong and victorious!! The most important thing that we should focus on is not the troubles that we face, because please know that they will come. We will instead celebrate overcoming by the salvation of the Lord!!
Originally Published By Clemetra Dashie November 14, 2020