Failure Is Never Final

Proverbs 24:16

            “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.”

Have you ever had a point in your life where it seemed like everything was just perfect, and then tomorrow’s circumstances changed all of that? You have great friends, a loving family, you were the star in Friday night’s game, the pretty girl at school smiled at you (guys), or the good looking hunk of a guy wanted to share your homework answers (girls) – you fill in the blank. It just seems like for once everything is going for you, and its awesome! You go to sleep that night, thinking that nothing could ever go wrong!

Then tomorrow comes.

You wake up late and are rushed to school. Let me stop here and say that rushed for girls means they didn’t have a chance to do their hair, their makeup, their clothes don’t match perfectly, they forgot to brush their teeth, and they have a huge zit on their forehead! For guys, rushed means…well…they didn’t have a chance to grab the Mountain Dew that they were going to guzzle for breakfast regardless of clothes, hair, or teeth! Either way, whatever the situation and whoever the person is, this day is not at all going right. On and on the day drags! All sorts of nightmares come true and your worst fears imagined are faced! You wonder what’s wrong with you and what you did to cause this. You feel like you can never get out of it. The fact that “I don’t deserve this!” echoes loudly in your mind. Finally the day comes to an end and it’s all over.

Has anyone ever been there before? Has anyone ever felt like a failure?

In Proverbs 24:16 we find a verse about recovering from one of those days...about recovering from failure. The Bible says, “A just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again…” Lets take a look at the Biblical solution to failure in the Christian life found in this Biblical statement.

The first characteristic of this statement is that the Bible classifies this person as a just man. In the latter part of the verse Proverbs contrasts the just man with the wicked. It immediately becomes evident that there is a difference in this man’s life. The difference, to make short work of it, is Jesus. All through the Bible the title just man is used in reference to those who have been justified from their sin through the blood of Christ’s redemption (Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38, I John 1:7). The ultimate reason this man can fall down and get back up is because his faith is not in his own strength to forgive himself, but rather in the fact that Christ has already forgiven him! His day is not dependent on his popularity with his friends, his appearance, or his performance, but rather on his position with God! The finality of failure is completely dependent on the eternal destiny of one’s soul!

Secondly we see the just man falleth. Despite the fact that he has a relationship with God we see that he is still human. When we enter Christianity it is not with a pious attitude of self-improvement, but instead with a humble admittance of our inability to do right by ourselves. We need the help of the One who created us, and without Him we fail miserably. In the illustrative story above, the person who is having this terrible day feels like all these bad things are happening to them. Often that is our attitude: bad things happen to us, not because of us. The verse states that the just man falleth. It’s not the circumstances that knock him down, and it wasn’t “bad” people that attacked him. The reason many people cannot move past failures is because they cannot admit that they themselves may have failed! Not the system or the situation, but them. Before one can move on often an acceptance of past failures must be reached. If you can admit that you made a mistake, you can ask God for forgiveness and in turn forgive yourself because God will forgive you (I John 1:9). If forgiveness takes place you are on the road to restoration, and you can keep your history from controlling your destiny!

Once the just man had fallen and realized his need for forgiveness, the restoration process began. The verse actually states that the just man “riseth up again.” So many Christians get knocked down because they are human, but fail to get back up again. Why? Because they forget that despite the fact that they are human, they are also children of God! The just man did not get back up because of how good he was, how smart he was, or even who he was. He got back up because of the fact that his relationship to God was not based on his own ability, but on God’s sacrifice. You see, he didn’t let God down because he was never holding God up. God held him up with the right hand of His righteousness (Isaiah 41:10).

Today Christian, if you’ve fallen, you can get back up. Not because of who you are or what you’ve done (good or bad), but because of what He’s done and Who He is! True failure is not in falling down, but in failing to get back up. God wants you to live a victorious Christian life. If you fall, He wants you to get back up. Failure is never final for the Christian! Have you gotten back up?

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand” - Psalm 37:23-24