How We Respond To Failures
At some point in our lives, every one of us fails. At some point in our lives, every one of us falls. At some point in our lives, every one of us sins. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) God knows this. We are His children. He knows every single one of us better than we know ourselves. And He loves us more than we could ever imagine, in spite of our faults, in spite of our failures, regardless of what we have done in the past. That is why He sent Jesus, to show us the way, and to help us. And since none of us are going to make it through this life without making any mistakes, let’s focus on how we respond to failure, and to when life knocks us down.
Scripture:
“A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.” – Luke 7:37:38
“Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” – Luke 7:37:38
Observation/Application:
This woman was a known sinner. Yet how she responds is what matters. She turns to Jesus, and pours out her love upon him. It’s not just a, “love ya” kind of comment. It is a deep, emotional, heart-felt release of her emotions that can be seen by her actions. Jesus says, “as her great love has shown”. The key word here is “shown”. She didn’t just say she loved Jesus, she showed him by her actions. She wept. She wet his feet with her tears. She wiped his feet with her hair. She kissed his feet. Then she poured perfume on his feet. She loved him and she showed it by pouring out her heart to him through her actions.
As we go through today, let the love of God our Father fill our hearts. Let Jesus Christ guide our every action, our every word, our every thought. Let us know that our sins of the past, are in the past. Let us know that through Christ all things are made new. We are worthy, nourished, refreshed, encouraged, restored, renewed, healed, forgiven, and blessed, by the blood of Jesus – the Truth, the Light, and the Way.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for your Word today. We come to you with arms wide open, with hearts wide open. Forgive us of our sins of the past. Empty us of our pride, our selfishness, our fear, of anything that does not come from you Lord. And fill us with all of your goodness. We turn to You Lord, and seek You first each day. Help us to see you Lord, to hear you, to feel you, and to know you. Guide our every step, our every word, our every thought. We honor you with our lips. We praise you today and every day. Thank you for sending your Son Jesus to die on the cross so that our sins would be forgiven. We thank you all that you have done, all that you doing right now, and all that you will do Lord. We give you all the honor, and glory, in Jesus mighty name. Amen.
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