Faith along the way

Unfortunately, spiritual pitfalls are often a part of our Christian walk. We have struggles and often we stumble and fall. As I was thinking about the topic of stumbling this week, some potential reasons came to mind:

• Taking our eyes off the Lord and not seeking His will
• Growing complacent in our walk
• Neglecting spiritual practices and failing to be prioritize spiritual growth such as praying, reading God’s Word, and attending church services
• Listening too much to worldly views and opinions
• Straying from the narrow path to follow the broad path which leads to destruction
• Giving in to temptations

I’ve listed just a few. I’m sure there are more. This post is not to shame us or make us feel guilty, but to encourage us in our walk to pay attention, stay alert, to be mindful of our enemy who wants to place obstacles in our path to cause us to stumble, and to strive to walk in the way of our Lord consistently.

James tells us in verse 2 of chapter 3 that we all stumble. None of us are perfect. We sin. We miss the mark. We stumble and fall. So, what then? I am so thankful we serve a loving and forgiving God, who is ready to forgive as soon as we admit our sin before Him, ask Him to forgive us, and repent …or turn away…from that behavior. Psalm 86:5 reminds us that God is good and ready to forgive. 1 John 1:9 tells us that God is faithful to forgive us when we confess our sins to Him. What a loving and forgiving God!

Life as a believer is not easy. We are not perfect. Yet. We are being perfected, which is to say that we are to strive daily to be more and more like our Lord while we are on this earth, to strive for our actions and behavior to reflect God’s character and align with His way. Thankfully, we have the help of the Holy Spirit to strengthen and guide us, and we have God’s Word to show us the way. It is the process of sanctification: a lifelong journey in the believer’s life with the goal of becoming more like Jesus in character, in conduct. It’s a day-by-day thing.

Fellow believer, be encouraged that when you stumble, God is willing to forgive. Be encouraged that there are fellow believers who love you and are willing to help you up. Be encouraged that tomorrow is a new day with His new mercies to receive and great is His faithfulness, according to Lamentations 3:22-23. Be encouraged that God loves you. Be encouraged.

All glory to our loving, faithful, and forgiving God. Have a blessed week.

Jackie