When You Fail....

By Gobel Brockman

I recently mentioned that people who say there's no God because Christians fail is like saying there's no judge because a criminal doesn't heed his warnings. But the sad fact is that we do fail. When I look at my own life, I see areas and times that what I've believed and what I've done are two entirely different things. And I can blame no one but myself. In those times, what happened was easy to explain - I SINNED. Sin not only brings consequences, it brings something else that is usually even worse - guilt. The feeling of "I know better than that - so why do I keep fighting this thing?" Guilt makes us feel not only that we'll never be what God wants us to be, it causes us to hide from Him in the time we need Him most. It caused Adam and Eve to try to hide in the Garden of Eden. It caused Peter to 'weep bitterly' and feel as though his life as a follower of Christ was over.

If you find yourself in that place right now, let me remind you of the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15. This man had taken his inheritance that his father gave him early, and wasted it all in a matter of days. He soon found himself at the lowest place he could imagine. He then said, "I will arise and return to my father. Maybe he will allow me to be a servant." What he found when he returned was a father waiting to embrace him. Not only that, it says the father called for a robe to be put on him, shoes for his feet, and a ring for his finger. Then the father threw a party for his returned son. The thing that I find most interesting is the ring. In those days, it wasn't just a piece if jewelry - it had the family insignia on it. It was the family credit card. The father was showing him not only that he was a son, but that he trusted him in the very area he had just failed.

Have you failed God? Don't allow guilt and fear to keep you from returning home. The Father's waiting - ready to rejoice with you!