Sunday November 28, 2021

If one falls...

Ecclesiastes 4:10 - For if they fall, one raises up his companion...

As a Christian, servant or servant of God, is it possible to get up after the fall ? Some will answer yes, for the righteous fall seven times and get up again (Proverbs 24:16). Others will say no, for it is impossible that those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have had part in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and who have fallen, be again renewed and brought to repentance, since they for their part crucify the Son of God and expose him to ignominy (Hebrews 6. 4 to 6). What to think then ? What to believe ?

For those who have fallen, but who in spite of everything have remained clinging with all their strength to the Lord, the first verse will be for them the breath of air that will strengthen them day after day, hoping against all hope for recovery. Those who are still standing will lean with all their might on this second verse to justify all the condemnation that emanates from their mouths on those who have fallen, to justify certain acts, behaviors, even slander.

If it is true that some fall completely turn away from God, deciding to resume the path towards the world and all its attractions, others, for their part, will humble themselves but yet will struggle with guilt, wicked acts. accomplished against them, the times of God's silence, and all the humiliation that accompanies a fall. When we have fallen, it is sometimes difficult to forgive ourselves. Yet if God forgives us, who are we not to forgive ourselves ?

Unfortunately, those who have fallen are often made to doubt the reality of God's forgiveness. What if God does not forgive me or more ? What if God doesn't pick me up ?

It is clear that during these times, loneliness, rejection, sadness are the companions of every day but all this is nothing compared to believing in the final rejection of God and his presence by our side. And the question that comes to mind is, should I continue to believe that it is possible or just let it go ?

Then begins another terrible fight : "Lord, I want to continue with You, I want to hang on to You, it is not the dead who praise You, but the living, Lord HELP". It is a real heartbreak to believe yourself rejected by God, there is nothing worse. You can be mocked, betrayed, slandered, it all hurts and very badly, but to think that you are rejected of God forever is something even more terrible. In addition, sin being what it is and being an opening to the enemy of our souls allowing it to infiltrate, it does not hesitate to wipe out everything that belongs to you, a little bit to the like Job.

These are, moreover, times when you have to fight on several fronts. Not only do you have to fight bitterness and resentment, which is not easy when you are under attack ; people using your downfall to cover up theirs or to slander you about a whole lot of things. But furthermore, you who once seemed to be loved, appreciated for who you were, are now only assimilated to your fault. It seems that you don't call yourself the same anymore, that you aren't the same person anymore. Your "friends" are now non-existent. The other front is to stay attached to God and refuse to believe anything that comes on our heart : "good for hell".

Then you have to go on living. Yes, but how to live when your life is based on God and the person of Christ. How to live if He is no longer there ? How can I be led each day if the Holy Spirit no longer wants to enlighten me? How ? 'Or' What ? And there the Lord speaks to your heart. He asks you to get up. He tells you that He still loves you. He even heals you of diseases. He shows you that He is there but around you nothing changes. You are always "persona non grata" ! For some, you are the plague victim. Besides, you are not the one ringing the bell to warn you of your arrival somewhere, but the others are ringing it for you. As for others, they will have a form of compassion towards you, but for how long, and what will they do with this compassion ? It does not appear to be followed by any effect. Others will promise you things and you say to yourself : maybe this is God's way to get me up, to get back into service. Sadly, these promises, too, have come to nothing. Wind and more wind ! and there again comes the disappointment.

Sometimes you feel pushed by God and you start to invest in the work of God again and there "well-meaning" people come behind you to destroy everything by slandering you. The evil you have done seems to follow you everywhere and yet God continues to talk to you and tell you to get up.

If I am sharing these things with you today, it is to tell you who recognize yourself through these lines that all is not over.

First of all, I would like to encourage you to look again to your Lord. To pray to Him, to praise Him, to find your first love for Him because even if you have abandoned Him, He has not abandoned you. The God in whom I believe is the one who says to you : “Go and sin no more. Forgive yourself too and move on. I'm not condemning you. I love you with an everlasting love, that is why I preserve my goodness for you" (Jeremiah 31.3).

Maybe some will say : "Can anything good come from this person ?". But God will say to Him : "You are my servant, I order you to be strong". So on this day, you who humbled yourself under the powerful hand of God, get up and dare to believe that God still has a future and hope for you and join the army of those who have been raised by God (Moses, David, Peter, to speak only of them...).

With all our compassion.

Source (Ezekiel 37 Ministries)