Okay, I admit it. I messed up my fast last Saturday. It was not really intentional, but it happened. I was down the hill with some family and we went to lunch and I couldn’t figure out ANYTHING on the menu to order that would be suitable to my fast, so, I just oredered SOMETHING.
So, what did I do after? I went right back onto my fast, I moved on. See, sometimes, we are going to mess up and sometimes we are going to mess up on purpose, but what ultimately matters is, what you do afterward.
In many ways, this time of fasting is a good reflection of our entire Christian life. There are going to be days that you feel as though everything is going right, that no matter what temptation or trouble may come, that you don’t have to worry because you know you won’t falter. There will be other days, however, when you feel as though the slightest issue could cause you to fail completely. I call this duality, “humanity.”
So, how do you respond when you end up doing what you don’t intend to do? Do you let your failure tell you that you are a failure, or do you stand back up, dust yourself off, and start moving forward again? The Apostle Paul gives us insight about this in Romans 7. His response to our inward struggle? “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord!”
My point is this: when you do fail, don’t feel the need to dwell on it. Instead, thank God that He has given Jesus to be the solution to our sins and failures. And hey, if God promises to forgive us of all our sins, then there is no point in beating ourselves up if we should happen to make a mistake in the midst of this fast. Instead of letting a mistake drag you down, use it as an opportunity to praise God for all He has done.
Grace.
Peace.
-m
Note: In tomorrow’s post, we will talk about discovering a “freshness” in the midst of a fast.
