What If I Stumble?

We’ve all done it. We make the best plans.
We start a new exercise plan. We put on our new sneakers and head out the door.
For a while, we stay on track.

And then it happens. We miss a day. Maybe two.
Then the whole plan unravels.

Or we start a new diet, and we are doing well.
Until we aren’t. One handful of chips turns into a bowlful.

And then we think. Why bother anyway?

But what if the stakes are much higher?

What if it’s sobriety?

A marriage?

Our relationship with God?

The Lie After the Stumble

Think about the last time you hurried up a flight of stairs and stumbled. Did you decide, “Well, I already stumbled. I might as well throw myself down the rest of the stairs”?

Did you tell yourself?
     I can’t even walk, I’m just going to sit here and pout.
     I’m a terrible person…no one can trust me.
     I’m so clumsy, such a loser.

No, you stood up, maybe grabbed the handrail and continued up the stairs.

Yet perhaps you have told yourself other lies, at other times…

I don’t pray or read my Bible as often as I said I would.
“How can God love me.”

I said the wrong thing at the wrong time.
“I’m such an embarrassment.”

I yelled at my kid…again.
“I’m such a failure as a mom.”

I lingered where I shouldn’t have.
“There goes my walk with Jesus.”

I relapsed.
“I guess I’m back where I started.”

I started hiding instead of confessing.
“God could never use me again.”

And instead of standing back up and dusting ourselves off, we spiral downward.

We believe the lies we’ve told ourselves.

So instead of making a quick course correction with whatever help we might need, we keep making one bad choice after another until we are at the bottom. Sometimes rock bottom.

I’m not pretending it’s easy, or that there aren’t a lot of reasons we fall off the wagon.

But why throw ourselves all the way down the staircase?
The enemy whispers, “You failed.” Jesus says, “Stand up.”

Stand Up

What if you reached out and caught the handrail?

What if you admitted your stumble, confessed it, repented, got back on track, and got help if you needed it?

Get back into the gym. Eat a better meal tomorrow. Call your sponsor. Text a trusted friend. Open your Bible again. Whisper a simple prayer. Take the next right step.

Some detours are more serious than others, and the sooner you turn around, the better. An uncorrected misstep can become another step, then another, until you find yourself somewhere you never intended to go.

It’s important to recognize that you’ve stumbled.

You might feel guilty, and that’s actually a good thing. Guilt tells you you’ve stepped outside your own or God’s values. It invites you to turn around.

Shame tells a different story. Shame says, “I did something wrong because I am something wrong.”

But if you belong to Christ, your identity hasn’t changed because you stumbled. You still belong to Him.

So confess it. Receive His forgiveness. Ask for His help in prayer.

Then wash your face, dust yourself off, and go live another day. One foot in front of the other.

Jesus Is There

There is hope even at the bottom.

Peter found himself there.

He didn’t just stumble.

He denied Jesus three times, after declaring his undying faithfulness to Him.

How devastating it had to be when Jesus caught Peter’s eye as the third denial had just crossed his lips and the rooster crowed (Luke 22:60-62).

Peter wept bitterly.

We don’t hear from Peter again until after the resurrection.

Eventually, Peter says, “I’m going fishing.” And the guys went with him.

We’re never told why. I have a really good imagination, so I could paint the scene, and maybe you could too. We’ll have to ask later when we all meet again.

Reminiscent of when He first met Peter, Jesus walked by and asked how the fishing had been.

Fishing all night. No fish. Again.

He might have been smiling to Himself when he said to try throwing “your net on the right side of the boat.” And again there were more fish than they could handle.

John realized it was Jesus.

And what did Peter do when he realized Jesus had come looking for them?

He didn’t assume Jesus was only there for John, “the disciple Jesus loved.”

He dove in and got to the shore as fast as he could.

And around a charcoal fire, like the charcoal fire where Peter had denied Him, Jesus restored Peter.
Not just to relationship, but back into ministry.
Not just let’s eat some fish, but feed My sheep.

It’s a pattern repeated throughout Scripture. We stumble. God pursues. We repent. God restores.

We can’t hide from His love at the bottom of the stairs. We can reject it, but it will always be there.

So when you stumble…because eventually we all do…