Failure

Failure is a daily occurrence for me.  I fail to get everything accomplished that I had intended on doing, I fail in fending off the sins that deep down I do not want to commit, and I fail to reflect Christ in the best possible way I know how.  It pains me to admit these failures, to admit that I fall far short of the standard of perfection that Christ exemplified, however, I find joy in His forgiveness.

He forgives all of us.  I do not understand, nor will I ever comprehend His love for us, but I fully believe that through Him we can be picked back up from our failures.  He does not hold us to a standard of perfection, but rather a standard of grace.  His grace makes up for where our human bodies, desires, and tendencies bring us, and His grace is far more than we could ever need.

I strive to beat my sin struggles, to grow closer with God on a daily basis, and fend off the spiritual attacks that come along with the territory.  Some days, I am able to remain strong, to rely on Him and make it through.  Other days, my flesh fails me, and I find myself back at square one, humbly repenting at the cross of Christ.  It is painful to admit my mistakes again and again, but the beauty is that His steadfast grace will always cover me, and renew me to my fullest.  We are imperfect beings loved and made whole by a perfect God and His perfect grace.  

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
~Psalm 73:26

Failure is inevitable, but accepting His grace, and learning from our shortcomings gives us exactly what we need to press on.  I do not expect to be perfect, but I strive to learn from my mistakes, to avoid them in the future, and inch myself closer to being the reflection of Christ that my soul longs for me to be.  I love Him, and He loves me; His mercy is relentless, His love is never ceasing, and His grace overflows for all of us.  It is with a grateful heart that I accept those gifts in place of my failures, and pray and urge all of you to accept them as well.

We fail and learn; He forgives and forgets.